THE LONE WRANGLERS LP

We are all the product of our influences. This is a mantra Uone and Western honours on their debut full length ‘The Lone Wranglers’. It sounds like no other, and flourishes of psychedelia and tribal deep house conceals a futuristic interpretation on the classic American frontier. Every instrument on the ten track release has been recorded live, and weaved into the fabric of many songs are spoken samples taken from an impressive collection of mediums.

Uone is veteran of a decade’s worth of international club and festival performances, and over the last 5 years the Australian has been honing his studio skills with impressive precision. Western AKA Nick West is an extremely accomplished music professional servicing high profile clients in TV, movies and advertising from his Sydney-based Smith & Western studio. His talents are illuminated throughout with live vintage-sounding keys, introspective guitar recordings and other organic instrumentation.

Track opener ‘Let Red Go’ is one of three interludes. It is an ambient teaser into their creative world, an neat synopsis of what’s laying ahead featuring clips of everything which makes the album special: Big drums, engaging melodies ,and spaghetti western guitars and samples. Featuring the intimate vocals of guest vocalist Briony Taylor-Brooks, ‘Kaos of Time’ is an alluring deep house track complete with guitar licks and soft production touches.

The deep house vibe is continued on ‘Culture of Knights’, this time a soothing acoustic guitar builds a gentle atmosphere carried by shakers and wood block instruments.

Big tribal drums preface the soft groove and urgent message of title track ‘The Lone Wranglers’, a thoughtful spoken word sample is underpinned by chanting vocals and melodic flourishes.

‘Cotton Clouds’ is the second interlude and acts as a halfway point bookmark, an ambient take on Uone & Westerns popular 2017 track ‘Cotton Picker’ (released on Uone’s Beat & Path records).

The melancholic arpeggiator of ‘Odysee 9000’ is therapeutic and introspective all at once, a hypnotic rhythm ensuring maximum captivation. ‘The Tale of Seven Samurai’ is the most energetic cut so far: Delicate FX and musical flourishes appear and disappear, and trainspotters would appreciate the creative use of numerous samples

The the third and final interlude is ‘Forest Walker’ which features a jingle from Nick’s 7 year old daughter wrote, her first composition after learning to play the piano, alongside field recordings form Uone.

The dance floor call-to-arms of ‘Silky Moments’ features beautiful bell-like tones which give way to harmonica, swelling chords and airy vocals. Finally,  ’The Last Showdown’, takes it home via big drums, sexy plucked guitars, hushed vocal samples, uplifting melodic phrasings and, above all, oodles of vibe.

‍