It's been less than two years since middle-England's Dutch Uncles released their sophomore record 'Cadenza', a record which, even for someone like me - who often favors less of a pop orientation on the widening blurb of the indie sound - was a surprisingly catchy and entertaining flurry of time-signatures and bumpy guitar melodies. And considering this was a band that stayed fairly neutral and held little borders regarding identity, the face-lift in sound was a joyous and thankful one at that. Uncles may then have found their comfort zone, as their third album 'Out Of Touch In The Wild' lands just a shade after the sun rises on the dawn of 2013. It's still 2012 - the beginning of the end [of the year] now finally hanging over us - but we've been given a sneak-peak into Uncles' charismatic and confident translation of this new mode of musical address, in the shape of 'Flexxin'.
Much like the many outings on their previous LP, 'Flexxin' is a hopefully sincere but clearly optimistic chime of whimsical string arrangements, deep percussion and quickening guitar strums. Once more, Uncles' vocalist Duncan Wallis steals the show, his voice certain it's going to delve its way into the heart of the matter as much as it is intent on darting straight out of it and even out of sight; whizzing its way between the upper and lower reaches of the track's accompanying flurry of string and percussion instruments alike. There's enough here to feel a sense of a soothing melodic charm, and at the same time - as much as you feel content and well-suited in Wallis' softening verses - the song has enough of a bounce and a momentum to keep it sounding fresh and lively. It may sound slightly more energized and willing to soak in the musical sun than what most would feel like a couple of weeks after New Year's, but for a band running on a good stream of confidence and a new-found identity, whose to stop them?
'Out Of Touch In The Wild' is available January 14th through Memphis Industries - the track 'Flexxin' can be downloaded for free right now, right here.
~Jordan
~Jordan