UNKLE, Never, Never, Land - 1h 3m 21s

Tracks & Durations

1. Back And Forth	0:54
2. Eye For An Eye	5:45
3. In A State	6:59
4. Safe In Mind (Please Get This Gun From Out My Face)	6:21
5. I Need Something Stronger	4:08
6. What Are You To Me?	6:52
7. Panic Attack	5:13
8. Invasion	5:15
9. Reign	5:32
10. Glow	4:18
11. Inside	7:21
12. Awake The Unkind	4:34

Note: The information about this album is acquired from the publicly available resources and we are not responsible for their accuracy.

Review

Like the end-of-season regenerations of Doctor Who, every new record from James Lavelle's UNKLE finds the musical project at the climax of some dramatic transmutation. Never, Never, Land is no exception. Soon after the release of 1999's Psyence Fiction, beats wizard DJ Shadow announced he'd never work as a member of UNKLE again--and accordingly, the first thing you notice about Never, Never, Land is the absence of his robust percussion. But once over that minor disappointment, it's not hard to wallow in this record's impressively dark scope.

With the aid of new collaborator Richard File, Lavelle has made a record that connects the dots between the creeping melancholy of Talk Talk, the scaly electronics of Massive Attack's Mezzanine and the grand sky-bound epics of the Verve. Like its predecessor, there's a proliferation of guest appearances: Jarvis Cocker, Josh Homme, Brian Eno, Ian Brown, Massive Attack's Robert del Naja. But the vocals are assimilated much more successfully here, ensuring that guest never overpowers song. Lavelle still has a fine eye for casting his songs in the grandest narratives: "Panic Attack" samples the robotic pulse of Joy Division's "She's Lost Control" and overlays it with blurred electronic shimmers and driving bass. Mind you, it might be the understated numbers--"Glow", "Inside"--that provide some of the record's loveliest moments. --Louis PattisonAlmost five years have passed since UNKLE's debut album Psyence Fiction, one of the nineties more important and controversial musical releases which featured producer DJ Shadow, The Verve's Richard Ashcroft and Mike D of the Beastie Boys on vocal duties. Additional album highlights were Thom Yorke's haunting "Rabbit In Your Headlights" and a then unknown, Badly Drawn Boy's cathartic "Nursery Rhyme."

But that was then and this is now... now is very different. Following the release of Psyence Fiction, Shadow returned to the States to work on The Private Press (with Lavelle as A&R). James Lavelle is the constant in UNKLE and he's forged a new production partnership with long-time friend Richard File for UNKLE's new album, Never Never Land. Lavelle said of File in Jockey Slut 2002: "Richard loves music, he's open-minded, he's brilliant technically, he's an absolute lunatic, he's a star, he's my best friend." In 2000, they moved into an Old Street flat together. It proved a very hedonistic time, a lost weekend that actually turned quite fruitful. In the same year they produced the band South for Mo' Wax and recorded a brooding, sinister soundtrack to Jonathan Glaser's film "Sexy Beast".

On the long awaited sophomore UNKLE endeavor, Stone Roses front man Ian Brown--whose "Be There" with UNKLE in 1998 went top ten--returns on the album's lead-off single "Reign" with fellow Roses member Mani tending to bass. Long time friend and inspiration 3D (of Massive Attack) contributes to "Invasion," Jarvis Cocker and Brian Eno duel with synths on "I Need Something Stronger," Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age contributes a schizoid vocal over a bassquake on "Safe In Mind" and Joel Cadbury of South's pretty Beatles-esque ballad "Glow" is the penultimate track. The album is rich in atmosphere, a lush cinematic experience in sensurround sound. If Psyence Fiction sounded like the future, Never Never Land is a post-apocalyptic travel log.

And it's been quite a trip for the men from UNKLE.

Other Versions

Albums are mined from the various public resources and can be actually the same but different in the tracks length only. We are keeping all versions now.

Never, Never, Land

Tracks: 11 (-1 tracks), Disk length: 59m 5s (-5m 44s)

Never, Never, Land

Tracks: 11 (-1 tracks), Disk length: 58m 49s (-5m 28s)

Please note: we do not provide any UNKLE music downloads, have no any mp3 music including music samples and music ringtones, and can not assist you where to buy music CDs and used CDs. You can search for it on music sites all over the Internet or visit one of our advertisers. We appreciate any ideas and comments about this experimental music database.