Pros: All star cast, some moving electronic tracks.
Cons: Unfortunate Mike D. collaboration.
The Bottom Line: Great idea, pretty good execution. Psyence Fiction is a decent album for fans of electronica...or anybody else wishing to expand their horizons.
U.N.K.L.E. was the brainchild of James Lavelle. An experimental stew of trip-hop, hip-hop, techno, electronica, and dance, the collaborative effort released two EPs on Lavelle’s Mo’Wax label before finally releasing a full-length album.
Each EP specialized in multiple influences, tight arrangements, and various remixes from a variety of artists. Everybody from Portishead to Attica Blues helped with these earlier works. But, it was with 1998’s Psyence Fiction that U.N.K.L.E. and Lavelle’s vision really took form thanks to the music provided and mixed by DJ Shadow. Little helps from Lavelle was necessary. DJ Shadow took it upon himself to collaborate with a number of rather famous vocalists ranging from Beastie Boy Mike D. to Richard Ashcroft (The Verve), Thom Yorke (Radiohead), and Badly Drawn Boy.
I’d never, ever refer to Psyence Fiction as the work of a genius. It’s entertaining and diverse, fun and frenetic, loud and soft. But genius? No. The album would have been incomplete if not for the many different vocal collaborations and would have sounded much like earlier DJ Shadow works (like Endtroducing for example). This isn’t to say that I don’t enjoy U.N.K.L.E. on Psyence Fiction. The album is rewarding on the whole with a stumble here and there and no real purpose (or Lavelle’s “concept”) aside from mixes, blends, and samples of which DJ Shadow is the daddy on this effort.
Consisting of twelve tracks (including an extended intro and brief outro), Psyence Fiction is perfect in length. The track that introduced me to U.N.K.L.E. was the collaboration with typically dour Thom Yorke. Rabbit in Your Headlights got my attention late at night one evening on MTV. The video, was well, rather violent (not exactly gruesome). But what really kept my attention was the song. A dusty keyboard and Yorke’s depressing voice introduce the track that as it matures becomes more and more difficult to stomach on an emotional level. It’s uneasy, wounded, and seemingly on the edge of insanity. This quality is further intensified by a sample taken directly from the film Jacob’s Ladder. Any track that can illicit that reaction in me is good…if not great.
Thin rubber gloves
She laughs when she's crying
She cries when she's laughing
Fortunately from U.N.K.L.E., Psyence Fiction has more--much more--to offer to adventurous and open-minded listeners. For example, Lonely Soul is deeply fascinating with sweeping programming and ambitious melodies. It’s only when Ashcroft’s voice is factored into the equation that the true power of the song can be recognized. The orchestral elements, layered vocals, and fascinating arrangement rank the song among the album’s most marvelous.
Also spectacular is the DJ Shadow / Badly Drawn Boy (Damon Gough) partnership. Wild, thumping, and loud as hell, Nursery Rhyme calls out purposefully to my inner rock princess. Shadow’s electronic version of rock and roll is explosive and earnest. Gough’s vocals don’t interrupt the flow of the track, they instead act as a musical instrument that just happens to communicate via lyrics. An seamless, inspired song that stands out as a likely candidate for “best song.”
You can't stop me breathing
Even when you're on fire
Know that you're weaving
With my emotional wires
Flows through me, in through me, out through me
Over me, feeling me, feeding me electrically
Blood Stain is also a freakishly compelling song complete with evocative and understated music and light yet pointed vocals provided by Alice Temple (her debut album, Hang Over, was released in 1999). She sounds carefree, detached and rather uninterested in the topic of her song. Her style of singing reminds me of Ivy for one. Music comes to Ms. Temple easily and with love. It’s hard not to hold Blood Stain in a cozy nook next to your heart.
While the majority of this album is beautiful and full of creative joy, I’m rather disappointed in the U.N.K.L.E. collaboration with Mike Diamond of my men the Beastie Boys. His song, The Knock (Drums of Death, Pt. 2) sounds decent enough. I like the use of rock with his raps, but it’s rough on the ears with deconstructive and convoluted beats. The song is underdeveloped. It goes nowhere particularly and is the unfortunate winner of this album’s booby prize. Mike D. really needs his other two buds to make his rhymes and songs really crack.
The only other less-than-stellar tracks are the pointless Chaos and Unreal. Unreal sounds a bit too new age to start with, but it’s the drum machine that annoys me once the song takes off.
Overall, Psyence Fiction is a much better than average album. I like the idea of blending usually accomplished vocalists with electronica, trip-hop, and rock all created by the same man (DJ Shadow). The album is a great purchase, a gem undoubtedly for fans of the artists featured on the album. I know little of U.N.K.L.E. as a unit. I know not if they will release another album. Honestly, it matters little. I’m happy as can be thanks to Psyence Fiction.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Track Listing:
01. Intro/Guns Blazing (Drums of Death, Pt. 1)
02. Unkle Main Title Theme
03. Blood Stain
04. Unreal
05. Lonely Soul
06. Getting Ahead in the Lucrative Field Of…
07. Nursery Rhyme/Breather
08. Celestial Annihilation
09. The Knock (Drums of Death, Pt. 2)
10. Chaos
11. Rabbit in Your Headlights
12. Outro
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