Right from the start James Lavelle’s UNKLE project seemed to trade on his collaboration with the post-Entroducing DJ Shadow.
All the elements for good music were there but the results always sounded too calculated. Subsequent UNKLE releases continued the collaborative focus, with the likes of Thom Yorke adding vocals and value to fairly uninspiring tracks. Now on Hold My Hand, the second single taken from his War Stories album, Lavelle takes to the mic himself. It would take a lot to save the track’s methodical, plodding dance rock and Lavelle, sounding a lot like a bored Tim Burgess, isn’t up to the task.
