UMO has an undeniable trademark, a yin and yang of experimental and accessible that rejects clout and idolatry while being primed for remixes and festivals. It may seem as though this trademark has been minimally changed. Upon first listen, V is an album that amalgamates the group’s previous inquiries into an hour of ascension.
Don’t Know What I Am, the band’s latest LP, is another perfect name. The record holds Sonia Weber’s established perspective throughout, affirming the confession of the title; but in a testament to the love we receive from others, it embraces gratitude and sunshine in ways that lead to the band’s strongest proclamation yet.
Mia Berrin, with a blistering attitude and personal freedom indebted to self-discovery, establishes herself as a songwriter of raw pathos. The kind where every plucked string is a “fuck you.” The kind where snark and melodrama are cherished tenets of a sound and style. The kind that’s so fundamentally queer, it’s inspiring.
Whereas her previous two albums dealt with the grief and dissociation caused by the death of her mother, Jubilee processes all of Zauner’s emotion into an expression of joyous, utter feeling. It’s an affirmation of her life, of our lives, through collective experiences of triumph we share together. Simply put, it’s stunning.
More Than Anything, the trio’s latest EP, is in line with their previous releases, but this time around, they keep the songs shorter, sweeter, and embedded with a tried-and-true, upbeat indie energy. Theo Hartlett’s vocals and songwriting may be what’s most remarkable here, as there’s a natural progression in his approach that entices.
Head of the Household ultimately feels like a feast of free jazz horns, no wave spunk and stylish semantics. Much like a Michelin-starred chef, Carlberg leads a brigade of highly skilled artists down their superbly sequenced path to perfection. The resulting product feels just as indebted to tradition as it is to Carlberg’s vision.
Through its twelve tracks and 39 minutes, ULTRAPOP offers nothing more than the absolute best. It’s a fantastic, futuristic, and forward-thinking emulsion of “what we know pop to be” and “what pop can be” from the heavy side of the aisle. It’s simultaneously grandiose, gruesome and glamorous while never evoking notions of elitism.
