UTO Reignites the Flame with “When All You Want to Do is Be the Fire Part of Fire”
UTO is back, and this Parisian duo isn’t playing with matches anymore – they’re setting the whole damn dance floor ablaze. Remember their 2022 debut, “Touch the Lock”? A masterclass in old-school grooves, sticky hooks, and Y2K-era synth bops. It solidified them as the coolest kids (adults?) in the room, a breath of fresh air compared to the, ahem, “cultural blight” of indie sleaze.
But nostalgia isn’t their only weapon. UTO, the combined forces of Neysa May Barnett and Emile Larroche, are time-traveling sonic sorcerers. Their latest album, “When all you want to do is be the fire part of fire,” is a love letter to the past three decades of music, a masterfully curated playlist of sounds you know and crave, yet twisted into something entirely new.
Take “Napkin,” for example. It’s a kaleidoscopic banger built on the foundation of Lyn Collins’ legendary “Think (About It).” Think Screamadelica-era Primal Scream on a sugar rush – full-throttle synths and bass that throbs like a heartbeat.
But here’s the thing: UTO transcend mere “sampling.” They weave sonic tapestries, where each element plays its part in a dynamic conversation. “2MOONS” exemplifies this perfectly. It starts as a shuffling trip-hop oddity, then blossoms into a lush orchestral soundscape, complete with jangling acoustic chords that shimmer in the ether.
Familiar yet fresh, surreal yet sharp, intricate yet effortless – that’s the UTO magic. If you dig the playful experimentation of Magdalena Bay, the genre-bending brilliance of KNOWER, or the infectious grooves of Hot Chip, then “When all you want to do is be the fire part of fire” is your next sonic obsession. Just crank it up and prepare to be consumed by the flames.
My one and only complaint with this entire album is the title, its completely destroyed my lovely tiled images but then UTO seem to specialise in destroying genres and just producing memorable tunes.
You can buy When All You Want To Do Is Be The Fire Part Of The Fire – UTO here
