UNKLE Albums (3)
'End Titles...Stories for Film'
Release Date 7/7/2008
Tracks 22
Label Surrender All
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Not quite the fourth proper UNKLE full-length, End Titles...Stories for Film is a collection of tracks taken from the shelf (or elsewhere) after the completion of War Stories in 2007. Since UNKLE were abundantly busy during that short span of time, the album certainly has the potential for greatness. It includes several pieces of soundtrack work from Odyssey in Rome (a documentary that focused on director Abel Ferrara and the making of his film Mary) as well as UNKLE's BMW advert hit "Trouble in Paradise (Variations on a Theme)." But End Titles...Stories for Film wears the signs of its creation poorly, unlike the quite-good odds'n'sods collection More Stories, which despite its high quality was released only in Australia. (To make matters more difficult, several tracks appear on both collections.) The film music is best, including the atmospheric "Heaven," with a lovely vocal from Gavin Clark that calls into question why it wasn't included higher up in the track listing. "Trouble in Paradise (Variations on a Theme)" is also solid, along with the track "Chemical," featuring Josh Homme. UNKLE flooding the marketplace with confusing and overlapping product has happened before, so it's just another problem to lay at the feet of James Lavelle and wonder why a project that once seemed so promising appears to torpedo itself at every turn. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
James Lavelle's UNKLE project has offered virtually everything to its fans and the listening public -- virtually everything, except for great music. UNKLE full-lengths seem primed to make a major impact on music and culture. They're packed with high concept, dense with thematic elements ripped from the headlines (especially the war in Iraq), and this time out, include an artwork-packed booklet (featuring Massive Attack's Robert del Naja, Ben Drury, and Will Bankhead). The fact that the music has never fulfilled its expectations, despite the undeniable talents of everyone involved, points to a too-many-cooks problem. War Stories finds the group, a core duo of Lavelle and Richard File, enlisting major production help from Chris Goss. Goss' work with Masters of Reality and Kyuss made the California/Arizona desert a haven for progressive metal, and its influence is all over this record. Fellow desert rat Josh Homme reprises his role from the last UNKLE full length, along with del Naja (as 3D), indie rockers Autolux, English neo-garage band the Duke Spirit, and finally, Ian Astbury (like Lavelle, another Englishman apparently fascinated with the American Southwest). Astbury's vocals on "Burn My Shadow" and "When Things Explode" make for a pair of highlights; they're one of the few points on War Stories when a hint of personality threatens to overwhelm the many tenebrous guitars and gloomy, plaintive vocals. Newcomer Gavin Clark also shines as a stand-in for Jeff Buckley, but amid the many features and incredible dynamism that mark every UNKLE full-length, there are no songs to grab onto and little of real essence. [Some editions also included a bonus disc with instrumentals.] ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
James Lavelle and DJ Shadow are unequal partners in UNKLE, with the former providing the concept and the latter providing music, which naturally overshadows the concept, since the only clear concept -- apart from futuristic sound effects, video-game samples, and merging trip-hop with rock -- is collaborating with a variety of musicians, from superstars to cult favorites Kool G Rap, Alice Temple, and Mark Hollis (who provides uncredited piano on "Chaos"). Since Shadow's prime gift is for instrumentals, the prospect of him collaborating with vocalists is more intriguing than enticing, and Psyence Fiction is appropriately divided between brilliance and failed experiments. Shadow and Lavelle aren't breaking new territory here -- beneath the harder rock edge, full-fledged songs, and occasional melodicism, the album stays on the course Endtroducing... set. Shadow isn't given room to run wild with his soundscapes, and only a couple of cuts, such as the explosive opener, "Guns Blazing," equal the sonic collages of his debut. Initially, that may be a disappointment, but UNKLE gains momentum on repeated listens. Portions of the record still sound a little awkward -- Mike D's contribution suffers primarily from recycled Hello Nasty rhyme schemes -- yet those moments are overshadowed by Shadow's imagination and unpredictable highlights, such as Temple's chilly "Bloodstain" or Badly Drawn Boy's claustrophobic "Nursery Rhyme," as well as the masterstrokes fronted by Richard Ashcroft (a sweeping, neo-symphonic "Lonely Soul") and Thom Yorke (the moody "Rabbit in Your Headlights"). These moments might not add up to an overpowering record, but in some ways Psyence Fiction is something better -- a superstar project that doesn't play it safe and actually has its share of rich, rewarding music. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
