War Stories

Perhaps a disappointment to longtime UNKLE fans who favored James Lavelle’s electronic evolution over the years, War Stories is clearly a rock record. “Chemistry” revisits orchestral Britpop of the early ‘90s, weaving guitars, synths and strings into a cinematic, dance-floor dervish, and from there it’s all churning, distorted guitars (“Hold My Hand”), stomping, swirling hard-pop (“May Day” with England’s the Duke Spirit) and anxious unease (“Morning Rage”). The pulsating, ominous “Burn My Shadow” shows Ian Astbury’s voice to be as evocative as it was back in the day (he of The Cult), and the hollow cowbell and stabbing guitar midsection promise a dark end, but “Restless” has the playfulness, chugging energy and edge you might expect from Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme. There’s a gossamer bounce to “Persons and Machinery,” gusts of airy guitar push “Keys to the Kingdom” skyward, and the ethereal “Price You Pay” is a welcome breather. War Stories feels somewhat sprawling but considering the loose theme (of personal “war stories” and change), perhaps that’s only fitting.