CD: UNKLE – The Road: Part II (Lost Highway)

A journey already begun continues in the new album by electronic artist UNKLE, celebrated widely as a founding figure in trip-hop. Following the 2017 release of The Road: Part I, we are now two thirds of the way through what James Lavelle has planned as a trilogy of albums.

We probably can’t help but interpret the subtitle Lost Highway as a reference to David Lynch’s 1997 classic movie. What the film and the album seem to have in common is indeed the haunting, captivating, and immersive effect… and the slightly unusual length, as The Road: Part II takes place in two dedicated “acts” of around 40 minutes each.

In total, this release contains 22 new tracks and an impressive myriad of voices and musical collaborators. Among them are Tom Smith of the Editors, Mick Jones from the Clash, Queens of the Stone Age’s Jon Theodore and Mark Lanegan. The album contains spoken word alongside singing. Some of the voices we hear on the record are a pleasant surprise, with appearances from Stanley Kubrick’s widow - artist Christiane Kubrick - and the actor Brian Cox. At the same time, The Road: Part II acts as an engine for newer talent as it also features plenty from young West London creatives Elliot Power and Miink.

The journey UNKLE takes us on is long and individual, the final destination being described by the artist as “home”: a space wide open to the imagination. However, it seems that Lavelle himself is celebrating the arrival somewhere new with this release: The Road: Part II is a refined collection of musical influences, and a mature version of UNKLE’s signature musical melancholy, elegance, and some darkness before the dawn as we are embrace being lost on the highway.

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