Unknown Mortal Orchestra Releases “I Killed Captain Cook”.
Written by: Eva Lynch
Unknown Mortal Orchestra, the psychedelic rock band from New Zealand is back with the 1st single off their upcoming double album, following two stand-alone singles this year -- “That’s Life'' and' “Weekend Run”. The release of the song was also used to announce their 2023 tour which will follow the release of this next album, which remains unknown.
Along with its release, Unknown Mortal Orchestra released an accompanying video which features footage of lead singer Ruban Neilson’s mother hula dancing beside the ocean, as a tribute to her, as the song retells a story she would proudly tell Neilson as a child. In a press release, Neilson said that the acoustic song tells the perspective of a Hawaiian who killed Captain James Cook, a British colonizer who attempted to kidnap and hold Hawaiian chief, Kalaniʻōpuʻu, at ransom in 1779. Neilson posted online that he wrote the song in honor of his mother, Deedee Aipolani Nielson, who also features on the song’s cover, and is “a legendary hula dancer and native Hawaiian.” Once the song was recorded, he filmed a video of her hula dancing her interpretation of the song and story for its music video.
While it’s an acoustic ballad, the song still retains that distinctly vintage sound and there’s no mistaking Ruban Nielson’s croon and tender sound overtop of the soft guitar. I look forward to seeing how their sound continues to unfold in this next album and see what else has been inspiring Neilson.