Manchester’s Dutch Uncles allow the angst of adolescence to seep through to the “right side of 25” on an album preoccupied with sex, social media and self-prescribed health checks. Articulating the innermost thoughts of its suburban male protagonist, Duncan Wallis’s nervous, fluttering falsetto is backed by graceful orchestration and delicately plucked minimalism, finding surreal beauty amid the awkwardness. Although their previous albums were rich in angular indie, this fourth sees the best realisation of their ambitions yet: there’s an alien romance to the Kate Bush-borrowing Babymaking; single In N Out lists sexual intentions with a disgusted fascination; Decided Knowledge has a Tears for Fears-style pomp; and Drips is built around the call and response of two oboes, which proves surprisingly mellifluous. Dutch Uncles may be indebted to the 80s, but O Shudder paints a portrait of a very modern man, and establishes them as masters at sculpting an atmosphere of unease.
