Sex & Food
| Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Sex & Food
Sex & Food is the fourth studio album by New Zealand band Unknown Mortal Orchestra, released on 6 April 2018 through Jagjaguwar.[According to lead singer Ruban Nielson, the album features a more expansive and eclectic sound than previous records, inspired by the international locations where it was recorded, including Mexico City, Seoul, Hanoi and Reykjav k, as well as Nielson's native Auckland and home Portland. - WIKIPEDIA
Critic Reviews
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Pitchfork
Ruban Nielson’s mildew-covered fourth record continues UMO’s long journey inward, pinballing between love and indifference, bops and dirges, pop and its opposite.
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NME
Fuzzy, funky and seriously fun.
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The Observer
an anxiety attack inside a disco ball.
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DROWNED IN SOUND
There’s a worldliness to Sex & Food that gives it perhaps Nielsen’s most diverse sounding record yet, however, it never strays too far away from Nielsen’s chopped up and screwed renditions of classic rock and funk.
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PRETTY MUCH AMAZING
If Multi Love was an uptempo exploration of love and sexuality, Sex and Food celebrates slowing things down.
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No Ripcord
Nielson is comfortable enough in his own songwriting to settle into airtight grooves--with the assistance of the clattering, shifty drums from his brother--and allow them to simmer for a few golden moments.
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CLASH
An all-you- can-eat buffet where you indulge in the band's finer points...
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ALL MUSIC
It's hard to fault the album overall; even though there's a trend for magpie-esque records, Sex & Food still has an instantly identifiable sound.
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The Skinny
This is a smorgasbord of an album: one to be indulged, and one to be savoured.
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The 405
Sex & Food gives the audience a closer look at the chaos-wrapped disco frenzy inside Ruban’s mind.
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musicOHM
Sex & Food might be reluctant to fully reveal itself, but in being the most uncompromising album in Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s discography it also feels like Nielson’s most honest musical statement to date.
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The Line of Best Fit
Sex and Love is best when self-assured but not arrogant, and when Nielson offers up confidently subdued melodies which give space for his production to ring out.
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AV/MUSIC
Although Sex & Food’s heavy-lidded moments can occasionally meander too far afield into somnolence, the record’s sharp observations about life, politics, and society are focused.
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Under The Radar
On Sex & Food Unknown Mortal Orchestra are inventive, ragged, sometimes tiring, and very cool.
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DIY
-a bit like inviting whipped cream into the bedroom--seem like a really good idea at the start, but turn into a bit of a sloppy mess along the way.
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exclaim!
It's an anxious, up-and-down affair, with moments of reward sprinkled within its lethargic haze.
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popMATTERS
Ruban Nielson and company dig deeper into psychedelia and mix up their sound on their fourth studio album Sex & Food.
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SFSONIC
somehow Sex & Food ends up being eerily perfect: a stealth watercolour of an imperfect society.
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LOUD AND QUIET
‘Sex & Food’ is an ironclad triumph.
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Soundblab
Sex & Food is bewildering, frustrating and reasonably entertaining.
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DRUNKENWEREWOLF
album is rather twisted and gloomy.
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bandcamp daily
they roll up all three into a weird-ass package that also includes jazz-rock, lite funk, and bits of proggy folk.
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Diandra Reviews It All
In their newest album, Sex & Food, they delve into the deceptions of pleasures.
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DAILY NEXUS
the album serves as an ambitious holistic view of society while pushing the boundaries of their musical niche.
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hear*ya
There’s no genre they won’t dip their toes in and none that they won’t blur with another.
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sputnik music
A soulful record lacking in soul.
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sungenre
Sex & Food makes for another respectable entry into the Unknown Mortal Orchestra catalogue.
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NORTHERN TRANSMISSIONS
It’s the tentative balance of sweet and sour that gives ‘Sex & Food’ its indelible charm.
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Amino
This album was all kinds of surprising for me. Didn’t really see it coming, and definitely didn’t expect to have it sound like this. Good or bad.
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ROCKNUTS.NET
it’s a fun, groovy record.
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The McGill Tribune
every song contains an emotion.
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Cultured Vultures
But while UMO has explored several new, exciting directions on Sex & Food, much of it feels like a doubling down on their older material—the disco grooves, the indie-infused R&B, the lyrics about drugs damaging relationships, Nielson’s staccato vocal phrasing.
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earbuddy
Sex & Food is the most Unknown Mortal Orchestra album yet in the sense that Nielson gives us everything he has to offer. Or at least what he’s shown us thus far. Who knows what he might do on the next record. But we should just trust that he has a plan.
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RiFF magazine
Sex & Food delightfully indulgent, familiar.
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Musically Speaking
THEY WENT FOR THE ESSENTIAL. Sex & Food. Two of the greatest, most glorious and obviously more satisfying of life.
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WUOG 90.5FN
This album makes it clear that even though the band has strayed from their more simplistic, soft-psych roots, they still have a clear sound and are able to deliver an album that is sure to be a musical high point of 2018.
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IMMORTAL REVIEWS
Unknown Mortal Orchestra keep it chill in Sex & Food, shifting from the normal psychedelic dynamic and opting for something much more intimate or daring.
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nxherald.co.nz
Just like its namesake, when you put all this together it makes Sex & Food a very pleasurable and highly satisfying album indeed.
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Penn State COMMMEDIA
Sex & Food is Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s most easy to enjoy record to date, even if it’s not the most consistent.
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THE EDGE
Unknown Mortal Orchestra's new album isn't perfect, but it's disco and funk-tinged highlights make it their most accessible and playful record to date.
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the west review
The album’s title is indicative, and a good representative of the project, with steamy bedroom-ready moments sat alongside punchy blues-infused outings.
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THE FIRE NOTE
Unknown Mortal Orchestra shed some synths for more strings in this fun batch of songs.
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NOWHERE BROS
Sex & Food holds up strongly in the band’s back catalogue and reinforces again why Ruban Nielson is one of New Zealand’s greatest modern-day musical exports.
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NARC.
Sex & Food is packed full of intriguing and exciting vocals all set to exquisite and diverse arrangements.
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OUTLINE
A truly experimental and enjoyable record.
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live4ever
The theme of the album is keyed in with the title; the two greatest pleasures in life, and the focus is generally positive in these depressing times.
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WOLF PACK RADIO
it’s all too good to be true at times, but it’s worthy of multiple listens.
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Written in Music(tranlsated)
more than fine album.
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STACK
This isn’t anything UMO fans won’t recognise, but for the same reasons you’re not gonna get this from anyone else.
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THE GOON REPORT
‘Sex & Food’ isn’t the album I was hoping for. It isn’t a step in the wrong direction as much as it is a misstep in songwriting.
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