Office Listening: Dutch Uncles

We’re quite an eclectic bunch in the old Skiddle office, which can make for tricky Office listenings. Occasionally though we will hit on something that magically is enjoyed by everyone, or at least tolerated by the majority. This week’s big hit in the office was the latest long player from the gifted Stockport based indie oddballs Dutch Uncles. 

Dutch Uncles - Out of Touch In The Wild

Dutch Uncles on the surface present something of a clash of ideals. Whilst the lighthearted nature of their melodies finds itself firmly in the pop category, it’s really not how you’d expect pop music to sound. This comes largely from their use of unusual time signatures, wickedly throwing off the listener whilst somehow making sense at the same time. The album is filled with jittery basslines, lush synth washes, and tied together with lead singer Alexis Taylor’s falsetto, twee vocal stylings, making the whole thing much more fascinating and left of field than your indie-by-numbers offerings so prevalent at the moment. 

The album is clearly the work of very gifted musicians who have combined a wealth of far reaching influences to create an intriguing, pleasing pop album of uplifting, delicate and completely infectious dittys. Restrained guitars regularly collide with ethereal keyboard wizardry and well placed string sections to create an aesthetic that combines elements of indie, folk, and disco, pulling you in further with each passing listen.

Dutch Uncles - Bellio

Tracks like ‘Bellio’ showcase soaring vocal workouts underpinned with a frenetic bass line that gives way to a sweet as you like synth whirr in true 80s fashion for a chorus that somehow stays grounded whilst glueing the song together. There are even elements of electro funk as can be witnessed in the wrong-footing, glockenspiel heavy ‘Fester’, which in turn goes off on tangents that displays the workings of band in full symbiosis, lending itself to their critically acclaimed, intoxicating live performances. It’s noticeable that Dutch Uncles choruses don't hit you in the face, preferring to work away at your subconscious, which makes for rewarding repeat listens as the tracks slowly reveal more of themselves to the listener.

For want of a better phrase, their sound is pop music with depth, both enjoyable and challenging in equal measure, without requiring too much work form the listener. ‘Out of Touch In The Wild’ as a whole is one of the more intriguing and certainly enjoyable office listenings we've had in a while, full of great production, sound design and a whirlwind of cascading ideas that prove ultimately exhilarating.

Catch them live at Now Wave, Manchester on the 6th December by heading here.

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