‘When all you want to do is be the fire part of fire’… say it to yourself and then say it again. Repeat it like a mantra. It’s what UTO did.

Anyone familiar with the UTO’s lauded 2022 debut ‘Touch The Lock‘, which Pitchfork praised for its “prismatic synth pop”, will be aware of the variegated nature of what they do. This album is just as colourful, with Neysa’s vocalwork sparking similarities to Kim Gordon’s off-kilter vocals, which they both ceremoniously jets through a post-electronica blender mixing stylized indie sleaze productions with 90s breakbeats.

While they might appear as a singular entity to others, UTO wrote large sections of this album apart, converging by the fireside to discuss the day’s work before coming together to hone and finish the songs. 2023 was, by their own admission, a difficult year, and that’s reflected in the Dantean themes expressed in songs such as the lead single ‘Zombie’, which arrived at the end of November as a taster for the new record; the latter’s dark heart is belied by the skittering beats, glitchy electronics and pummeling sequencers that elevate it from the void.

UTO are agents of chaos who’ve always lived on the periphery of reality, inhabiting an uncanny  hinterland of the imagination where dream states coalesce with perceived real life. It probably shouldn’t surprise us then that they have embraced AI where others fear to tread, by following the sonic algorithms to see where they might lead creatively, and by presenting themselves on the cover of ‘When all you want to do is be the fire part of fire’ as two generated simulations: “This image is not of our faces, but it looks like us,” says Neysa. “It’s more us than us.” More fire than fire, one could add. From fire, early man’s discovery, to AI, humanity’s next great adventure – with all of the wonders and complexities of human relationships in between – ‘When all you want to do is be the fire part of fire’ really is about life, the universe and everything. Just remember, be the flame, not the moth.

When all you want to do is be the fire part of fire has been included in many lists as being one of the best albums of 2024 as a testament to how the duo is making waves within the music scene.