w/ AMULETS | 8:00 pm | 6161 Delmar Blvd. | All Ages | GA $28 advance, $35 day of show, $35 Reserved Balcony
It’s been a mysterious few years for fans of Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Since their last full album, Sex & Food, was released in 2018, the singles have been slowly and steadily trickling out with cryptic names like “IC-01 Hanoi” or “SB-06” and ambient instrumental riffs. While these felt like a travelogue of hotel-room musings, I still gave them plenty of spins. The pace picked up in 2021 and 2022 with a few more releases, with lyrics and vocals and descriptive titles and all. The delayed gratification effectively kept my appetite stoked for a new album, which was finally released last month, just in time for a new tour.
As the title suggests, the latest album, V (released on Jagjaguwar), is their fifth full album, returning to the convention that brought us the beautiful and melancholy second album, II. While the intervening albums leaned a little more heavily into crunchy guitars and social critique of a Babylonian lifestyle gone sour, V returns to the gentle and personal. Several of the singles teased over the years, including “I Killed Captain Cook” and the ear worm “That Life” find their home among new tracks such as the bittersweet pair “Layla” and “Nadja.”
I first heard Unknown Mortal Orchestra on a rental car satellite radio station playing “Ffunny Ffrends” and was hooked by their unique melodies and traipsing vocals in sync with the guitar. I’ve since had the opportunity to see them at Austin Psych Fest and the last time this New Zealand-based trio has made their way to St. Louis, at The Firebird in 2015. I’ve been waiting patiently for their return and wouldn’t dare miss it. The Pageant is a complementary jump, and I’m hoping their heartbreaking melodies, tragic dance beats, and lush guitar work just might come with a little light show, if we’re lucky. | Courtney Dowdall
Unknown Mortal Orchestra tour dates:
03.29.23 | San Francisco, CA | The Fillmore
03.31.23 | San Diego, CA | The Observatory North Park
04.01.23 | Los Angeles, CA | Hollywood Palladium
04.02.23 | Phoenix, AZ | The Van Buren
04.04.23 | Denver, CO | Ogden Theatre
04.05.23 | Kansas City, MO | Uptown Theater
04.06.23 | St Louis, MO | The Pageant
04.07.23 | Minneapolis, MN | First Avenue
04.08.23 | Chicago, IL | Radius Chicago
04.10.23 | Detroit, MI | Majestic Theatre
04.11.23 | Toronto, ON | Queen Elizabeth Theatre
04.13.23 | New York, NY | Webster Hall
04.14.23 | New York, NY | Webster Hall
04.15.23 | New York, NY | Webster Hall
04.16.23 | New York, NY | Webster Hall
04.18.23 | Washington, DC | 9:30 Club
04.19.23 | Washington, DC | 9:30 Club
04.21.23 | Philadelphia, PA | The Fillmore Philadelphia
04.22.23 | Boston, MA | Roadrunner
05.28.23 | Brussels, Belgium | Core Festival 2023
05.30.23 | Bexhill On Sea, United Kingdom | De La Warr Pavilion
05.31.23 | London, United Kingdom | Troxy
06.01.23 | London, United Kingdom | Troxy
06.03.23 | Düsseldorf, Germany | Zakk
06.04.23 | Berlin, Germany | Metropol
06.07.23 | Stockholm, Sweden | Huset Under Bron
06.08.23 | Frederiksberg, Denmark | SYD FOR SOLEN 2023
06.09-11.23 | Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands | Best Kept Secret 2023
06.10.23 | Hamburg, Germany | ELBJAZZ 2023
06.12.23 | Paris, France | La Cigale
06.15.23 | Manchester, United Kingdom | Albert Hall
06.16.23 | Leeds, United Kingdom | Stylus
06.17.23 | Glasgow, United Kingdom | Galvanizers Yard
06.19.23 | Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom | Boiler Shop
06.20.23 | Liverpool, United Kingdom | Content
06.21.23 | Bristol, United Kingdom | O2 Academy Bristol
08.31 – 09.03.23 | Salisbury, United Kingdom | End Of The Road Festival 2023
