Live Review: Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Divide & Dissolve

On a surprisingly balmy, spring evening, a huge showing has turned out at The Forum, particularly for a Wednesday night gig, and packed out the historic Melbourne venue. 

Playing a unique brand of experimental doom metal, opening act Divide & Dissolve are an odd choice of support act for a psych-rock band. With a wall of amps and an even heavier wall of sound, the Melbourne duo make music designed to dismantle white supremacy and empower black and First Nations people. They might not be the most gifted musicians, but this is not the point and their music may just signal the end for mankind itself.

Last in Australia for a string of sold-out, headline shows for the critically acclaimed Multi-Love in 2015, psych R&B outfit Unknown Mortal Orchestra are back with their excellent fourth album, Sex & Food and bring with them a reputation for otherworldly jam sessions.

Coming out in a shroud of greens, purples and oranges, visionary frontman Ruban Nielson gets straight into it, opening with From The Sun, which begins lovely enough before launching into a full-blown psychedelic jam. As this is happening, Nielson decides to jump off-stage, guitar in tow, and circle the whole venue, signalling his intentions right off the bat. Yep, this show is gonna rock. 

This sets the tone for the night as Nielson and band juxtapose slow, hypnotic, R&B grooves with sharp bursts of fuzzy, psych-rock guitar. The classic ‘verse-chorus-verse-chorus’ format truly goes out the window as UMO create a rich tapestry of sound that would feel right at home in the hippie counterculture of the late ‘60s. Indeed, such is the kaleidoscopic nature of the band’s sound that it’s hard to distinguish when one song starts and another ends. This is the beauty of UMO’s music and one duly acknowledged by an adoring crowd.

Highlights include the aforementioned killer opening track, From The Sun, the acid rock of American Guilt, and of course fan favourite, Multi-Love. Perhaps it’s the more subdued moments that stand out the most though in the likes of Hunnybee, Not In Love We’re Just High, and particularly So Good At Being In Trouble, which truly showcases Nielson’s soulful voice alongside his supreme guitar skills.

As the band concludes their rollercoaster set with a well-received Can’t Keep Checking My Phone, Nielson shares his appreciation of the crowd, with guitar aloft, leaving a very sweaty and exhilarated audience in his wake.