Unknown Mortal Orchestra shares “Meshuggah,” a track off forthcoming album V, available March 17th via Jagjaguwar. The release follows the recent singles of “Layla” and “Nadja,” both of which arrived accompanied by Vira-Lata-directed videos that showcase the lives of two young women across the two films. Upon its release, the New York Times praised “Layla” as “full of warmth, with a soulful vocal melody” and bandleader Ruban Nielson’s “nimble guitar playing.” Last October, the band also shared “I Killed Captain Cook,” which foreshadowed the album’s themes when it arrived with a video starring Nielson’s mother, Deedee Aipolani Nielson, Miss Aloha Hula 1973.

This past October, Unknown Mortal Orchestra announced their first tour in 4 years with a headline North American and UK tour that will kick off in March shortly after the release of V. Before heading to the UK, the tour stops in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Denver, Detroit, and New York City.

Conceived in Palm Springs, California between the dry freeways and the lush coastline of Hilo, Hawaii, V is led by Hawaiian-New Zealand musician Ruban Nielson and draws from the rich traditions of West Coast AOR, classic hits, weirdo pop and Hawaiian Hapa-haole music. With V, UMO’s first double album, Nielson reframes and enriches the road that led him to this moment. During the pandemic’s early days, Nielson’s brother Kody flew from New Zealand to Palm Springs to help him with his recordings. One of their Hawaiian uncles began displaying health issues, and Nielson realized he was facing a sharper and more acute sense of mortality. To be with him, he put aside his recordings and helped his mother and another of her brothers move from New Zealand and Portland, respectively, to Hawai’i. He reunited with his brother at his cousin’s wedding in Hawaii and together they traveled back to Palm Springs, where the fourteen singalong anthems, cinematic instrumentals, and mischievous pop songs in V were brought together with the help of his father, Chris Nielson (saxophone/flute), and longstanding UMO member Jake Portrait.

V evokes blue skies, beachside cocktail bars, hotel pools and the darkness that lurks below perfect, pristine surfaces. The desert resort city’s palm tree-lined streets reminded Ruban of a childhood spent playing by hotel swimming pools with his siblings while their entertainer parents performed in showbands across the Pacific and East Asia, and he became aware of the glamorized hedonism he’d internalized since childhood and the darker side of his parents’ lifestyle when they were working as entertainers.

“In Hawaii, everything shifted off of me and my music,” Nielson said. “Suddenly, I was spending more time figuring out what others need and what my role is within my family. I also learned that things I thought were true of myself are bigger than I thought. My way of making mischief – that’s not just me – that’s my whole Polynesian side. I thought I was walking away from music to focus on family, but the two ended up connecting.”

Unknown Mortal Orchestra
V
Tracklisting
Jagjaguwar

1. The Garden
2. Guilty Pleasures
3. Meshuggah
4. The Widow
5. In The Rear View
6. That Life
7. Layla
8. Shin Ramyun
9. Weekend Run
10. The Beach
11. Nadja
12. Keaukaha
13. I Killed Captain Cook
14. Drag

Unknown Mortal Orchestra 2023 Tour Dates

3/20 – Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory Concert House
3/21 – Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theatre
3/22 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom (Sold Out)
3/22-26 – Boise, ID @Treefort Music Festival
3/25 – Seattle, WA @ The Moore Theatre (Sold Out)
3/27 – Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
3/28 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore (Sold Out)
3/29 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore (Sold Out)
3/31 – San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park (Sold Out)
4/1 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
4/2 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
4/4 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
4/5 – Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater
4/6 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
4/7 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
4/8 – Chicago, IL @ Radius
4/10 – Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre
4/11 – Toronto, ON @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
4/13 – New York City, NY @ Webster Hall (Sold Out)
4/14 – New York City, NY @ Webster Hall (Sold Out)
4/15 – New York City, NY @ Webster Hall (Sold Out)
4/16 – New York City, NY @ Webster Hall
4/18 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club (Sold Out)
4/19 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
4/21 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore
4/22 – Boston, MA @ Roadrunner
5/28 – Brussels, Belgium @ Core Festival
5/30 – Bexhill, UK @ De La Warr Pavilion
5/31 – London, UK @ Troxy (Sold Out)
6/1 – London, UK @ Troxy
6/3 – Düsseldorf, Germany @ Zakk
6/4 – Berlin, Germany @ Metropol
6/7 – Stockholm, Sweden @ Under Bron
6/8 – Frederiksberg, Denmark @ Syd For Solen
6/8 Syd For Solen needs to be added
6/9 – Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands @ Best Kept Secret
6/10 – Hamburg, Germany @ ELBJAZZ Festival
6/12 – Paris, France @ La Cigale
6/15 – Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall
6/16 – Leeds, UK @ Stylus
6/17 – Glasgow, UK @ SWG3 Galvanizers
6/19 – Newcastle, UK @ Boiler Shop
6/20 – Liverpool, UK @ Content
6/21 – Bristol, UK @ Bristol 02 Academy 1
9/1 – Larmer Tree Gardens, UK @ End Of The Road Festival

pre-save/order V by Unknown Mortal Orchestra HERE