The Road: Part 1

The Road: Part I
Studio album by
UNKLE
Released18 August 2017 (2017-08-18)
Length59:34
LabelSongs For The Def
ProducerJames Lavelle
UNKLE chronology
Where Did the Night Fall
(2010) 		The Road: Part I
(2017) 		The Road: Part II (Lost Highway)
(2019)
Singles from The Road: Part I
  1. "Cowboys or Indians"
    Released: 15 July 2016
  2. "Sick Lullaby"
    Released: 25 January 2017
  3. "Looking for the Rain"
    Released: March 2017
  4. "The Road"
    Released: April 2017
  5. "Sunrise (Always Comes Around)"
    Released: 7 July 2017
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic71/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Guardian[3]
The Irish Times[4]
The Line of Best Fit8/10[5]
Magnet9/10[6]
Mixmag7/10[7]
PopMatters8/10[8]
Q[9]
Record Collector[10]
Slant Magazine[11]

The Road: Part I is the fifth studio album from British electronic music act Unkle, released on 18 August 2017 (2017-08-18).[12]

Background

The Road: Part 1 is the first UNKLE record in seven years. The album was inspired by James Lavelle's time spent curating the Meltdown Festival at London's Southbank Centre in 2014.[12] Talking about the process of creating the new album, Lavelle said:[12]

I hadn't made a record in a long time, and the incarnation of UNKLE had changed in that now, it was me on my own. For that reason, I wanted to make a record that I hadn't been able to before, going back to the roots of where I came from, with a foot in modern London.

Artwork

The artwork for the album was created by German painter Jonas Burgert. The album is accompanied by a 36-page booklet that features artworks by Nathan Coley, John Isaacs, David Nicholson, Norbert Schoerner, Doug Foster, and previous collaborators Warren Du Preez and Nick Thornton Jones.[12]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Iter I: Have You Looked at Yourself"0:49
2."Farewell" (featuring Ysée, Eska, Elliott Power, Keaton Henson, Liela Moss, Mink, Dhani Harrison and Steven Young)6:16
3."Looking for the Rain" (featuring Mark Lanegan, Eska and Twiggy Ramirez)6:01
4."Cowboys or Indians" (featuring Elliott Power, Mink and Ysée)6:20
5."Iter II: How Do You Feel"1:06
6."Nowhere to Run/Bandits" (featuring Twiggy Ramirez)5:34
7."Iter III: Keep on Runnin'"0:56
8."Stole Enough" (featuring Mink)3:09
9."Arm's Length" (featuring Elliott Power, Mink and Callum Finn)4:56
10."Iter IV: We Are Stardust"0:59
11."Sonata" (featuring Keaton Henson)5:18
12."The Road" (featuring Eska)6:22
13."Iter V: Friend or Foe"0:33
14."Sunrise (Always Come Around)" (featuring Liela Moss)6:42
15."Sick Lullaby" (featuring Keaton Henson)4:33
16."Looking for the Rain" ((Trentemøller Rework)" [Japanese bonus track])4:57

Charts

Chart (2017) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[13] 106
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[14] 80
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15] 92
Irish Albums (IRMA)[16] 58
New Zealand Heatseekers Albums (RMNZ)[17] 8
Scottish Albums (OCC)[18] 12
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] 55
UK Albums (OCC)[20] 16

References

  1. ^ The Road: Part 1 at Metacritic Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ Wacey, Rob. "UNKLE - The Road: Part 1". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  3. ^ "UNKLE: The Road, Part 1 review – cinematic, orchestral and pensive".
  4. ^ "UNKLE - The Road: Part 1 review: gloomy soundtrack for the apocalypse".
  5. ^ "The Line of Best Fit review".
  6. ^ "The Road: Part I - UNKLE". Magnet. No. 145. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. p. 61.
  7. ^ Worthy, Stephen. "SEPTEMBER: 18 ALBUMS YOU NEED TO HEAR THIS MONTH". Mixmag. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  8. ^ Schiller, Mike. "UNKLE: THE ROAD, PART 1". PopMatters. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  9. ^ In cinematic terms, not a bomb. But not a blockbuster, either. [Sep 2017, p.116]
  10. ^ Harley, Kevin. "The Road: Part 1 - UNKLE". Record Collector. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  11. ^ "Slant Magazine review".
  12. ^ a b c d "The Road: Part 1". Pledge Music. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  13. ^ "Ultratop.be – Unkle – The Road: Part 1" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  14. ^ "Ultratop.be – Unkle – The Road: Part 1" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  15. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Unkle – The Road: Part 1" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  16. ^ "Irish Albums Chart: 25 August 2017". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  17. ^ "NZ Heatseekers Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 28 August 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  18. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  19. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Unkle – The Road: Part 1". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  20. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 August 2017.