Dutch Uncles aren't actually Dutch; they're from Manchester. No word on whether they're actually uncles, though. I bet at least some of them are uncles. The zippy art-pop band has six members; there's got to be at least two uncles in there. We last heard from Dutch Uncles when they released the 2023 album True Entertainment, and frontuncle Robin Richards dropped his solo debut Taproots last year. (Richards is actually the bassist and lead composer, and I'm not sure if that makes him the bandleader or not. Just couldn't resist the word "frontuncle.") Now, there's a new Dutch Uncs record on the way.
Early next year, Dutch Uncles will release Polygon Hotel, the new album that they produced themselves, with Geese/Lime Hotel collaborator Felix Davis on hand to mix it. It's their first since becoming a sextet, with longtime collaborators Henry Broadhead, a multi-instrumentalist, and Neil Wright, a guitarist, as full members of the band.
Lead single "No Note" has a bit of the classic XTC or Tears For Fears gene. It's this big, busy song with an elaborate arrangement and a whole lot of marimba, and its melodic decisions veer all over the place. In a press release, Duncan Wallis, the band member who could perhaps be best described as frontuncle, says this:
A three-minute lament on time wasted looking at one’s phone. Specifically, time spent on social media and a regret that so much of our lives has been invested into the engine of social media, just for it to be snatched up and controlled by the worst people imaginable.
And, somewhat ironically considering it’s a reflection on time wasted, it only took five minutes to write the lyrics.
Patrick King directed the "No Note" video, and Miles Buckle did the nightmarish '90s-style CGI animation. Check it out below, along with the Polygon Hotel tracklist and Dutch Uncles' upcoming tour dates.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Outset I"
02 "Le Bin
03 "No Note"
04 "No Wonder"
05 "Catapulting"
06 "Outset II"
07 "Rialto"
08 "Boots!"
09 "Wrecking House
10 "The Dome"
11 "Chosen"
TOUR DATES:
3/05 - Glasgow, UK @ Nice N Sleazy
3/07 - Bristol, UK @ The Exchange
3/10 - Manchester, UK @ Band on the Wall
3/12 - Newcastle, UK @ The Cluny
3/17 - Birmingham, UK @ Hare & Hounds
3/18 - London, UK @ 100 Club
3/21 - Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
Polygon Hotel is out 2/19 on Memphis Industries.
