Unknown Mortal Orchestra has been my jam this year. They've put out one of the best debut LPs of the year, and have been getting a fair amount of attention -- at least in the blogosphere. Their record has scarcely left my turntable in the last few weeks. I've been sharing them with anyone who'll listen, and everyone who has listened has dug them as well. Pitchfork gave them a 8.1. What I'm trying to say is, they're good.
So I was really disappointed when UMO had to cancel their opening slot for Starfucker at the Holocene in April. I already had tickets for the show, and I don't even particularly like Starfucker. AND they played their "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" cover....curse you, Starfucker. Anyway, I've since moved to Southern Indiana and given up hope on seeing Unknown Mortal Orchestra or any other decent band without having to make a 3 hour trek to the nearest major tour stop. So I was beyond excited when they tweeted that they had a show somewhat near me later that night. I grabbed a friend, made the hour and a half drive, and started putting drinks in my face. (Did I mention that much like Pitchfork, this review is going to be all context and no content? Because it is.)
UMO played a tight, no frills set. They didn't have any special lights or stage setup or banter or antics. But they did sound damn good. They got everyone up and dancing. (By the way, to the drunk girl in attendance, when a band only has 30 minutes of recorded material you don't need to shout for them to play their hits. They'll play them. Trust me.) If you like their record, you'll like their live show. I think they might sound even better live. It was a really intimate set, and I had a couple drinks in me, so I couldn't help but shout out encouragement between songs -- "I came all the way from Portland to see you!" The band and the crowd laughed. "No, I'm serious...50th and Division!" (my old address) -- Unknown Mortal Orchestra: "Oh shit!"
After the show, their bassist, Jake, came up to me. I explained how I had tried to see them in Portland and was psyched to get another chance. He said they were going on tour with Yuck next, and would be back playing with Toro y Moi after that. I asked if they were working on any new material, but he said they hadn't had time and were really working on touring and promoting their debut. I knew they had recently played a secret basement show in Portland, so I asked about that. It was either in Starfucker's or Typhoon's basement (can't remember). The band was really bummed that the police shut it down early. I let Jake know that if they wanted to try another basement show, my buddies at the Banana Stand were big fans and would love to have them (they do free monthly shows, recording live music). Right away Jake said that he was familiar with The Stand, and knew Shawn Pike (from The Banana Stand and The Greater Midwest). He may have even said they'd been to The Stand before -- I don't know, my journalistic skills get pretty shitty when I'm drunk.
I congratulated the band on the great show and album. Jake said they were surprised how much attention it was getting. I joked that it was the Pitchfork Best New Music (BNM) effect. Then Jake confirmed something I had long suspected -- a lot of bands don't want to be BNM'd. They had gotten a score high enough to get the Best New Music tag, but didn't. And they were happy with that. That tag can give a band a lot of extra exposure, but it also puts a lot of added pressure and scrutiny on a band. We're in the age of Pitchfork backlash, and people will check out BNM bands and be much quicker to write them off as empty hype, or claim that Pitchfork is pushing them because of some kind of hidden agenda -- because Pitchfork wants them to play their festival, or because they're the face of a new genre of music that will get the site more hits, for instance. Pitchfork used to hand out a lot more 0.0s and 10.0s, or particularly harsh reviews like this Jet one. These days, they've gotten so big that they have to be more careful about what scores they give, lest they completely obliterate a band before they even had a chance. Because even a 10.0 score can crush a band. Unless you're Kanye.
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