Sex & Food

Sex & Food
Studio album by Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Released	6 April 2018 (2018-4-6)
Recorded	2016–2017
Studio	Panoram (Mexico City, Mexico) Union (Seoul, South Korea) Phu Sa (Hanoi, Vietnam) Rasmus auga (Reykjavík, Iceland) Ruban Nielson's basement (Portland, Oregon) Kody Nielson's home studio (Auckland, New Zealand)
Genre	Psychedelic [1] groove rock [2] [3] folk [4] R&B [4] disco [3]
Length	40:45
Label	Jagjaguwar
Producer	Ruban Nielson
Unknown Mortal Orchestra chronology
Multi-Love (2015) Sex & Food (2018) IC-01 Hanoi (2018)
Singles from Sex & Food
"American Guilt" Released: 23 January 2018 "Not in Love We're Just High" Released: 27 February 2018 "Everyone Acts Crazy Nowadays" Released: 26 March 2018

Sex & Food (stylized as sex + food) is the fourth studio album by New Zealand band Unknown Mortal Orchestra, released on 6 April 2018 through Jagjaguwar. ^[5] According to leader of UMO Ruban Nielson, the album features a more expansive and eclectic sound than previous records, inspired by the international locations where it was recorded, including Mexico City, Seoul, Hanoi and Reykjavík, as well as Nielson's native Auckland and home Portland. ^[6]

The lead single of the album, "American Guilt", was released on 23 January 2018, ^[7] while the music video premiered on 8 February 2018. ^[8] "Not In Love We're Just High" was released on 27 February as the second single, ^[9] and "Everyone Acts Crazy Nowadays" was released on 26 March as the third single. ^[10]

An animated music video was made for the track "Hunnybee".

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	75/100 [11]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The A.V. Club	B− [12]
Clash	8/10 [13]
Exclaim!	6/10 [14]
NME	[15]
The Skinny	[16]
Pitchfork	7.0/10 [4]
PopMatters	[1]
Q	[17]
Uncut	9/10 [18]

Sex & Food received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 75 based on 19 reviews. ^[11]

Track listing

All tracks written and produced by Ruban Nielson, except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"A God Called Hubris"	Ruban Nielson Kody Nielson	R. Nielson K. Nielson [a]	0:41
2.	"Major League Chemicals"			3:53
3.	"Ministry of Alienation"			3:43
4.	"Hunnybee"	R. Nielson K. Nielson Jacob Portrait	R. Nielson Portrait [a]	4:28
5.	"Chronos Feasts on His Children"			1:42
6.	"American Guilt"	R. Nielson K. Nielson Portrait		4:33
7.	"The Internet of Love (That Way)"			4:57
8.	"Everyone Acts Crazy Nowadays"	R. Nielson K. Nielson	R. Nielson K. Nielson [a]	4:15
9.	"This Doomsday"			3:32
10.	"How Many Zeros"		R. Nielson K. Nielson [a] Portrait [a]	3:25
11.	"Not in Love We're Just High"		R. Nielson Portrait [a]	3:38
12.	"If You're Going to Break Yourself"			4:38
Total length:				43:18

Japan bonus track ^[19]

No.	Title	Length
13.	"SB-05"	27:42
Total length:		71:16

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies a co-producer.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Sex & Food. ^[20]

• Ruban Nielson – production, mixing; vocals (tracks 2–12), guitars (tracks 2, 4–10, 12), bass (tracks 1, 2, 7, 8, 10, 12), Rhodes (tracks 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11), synthesizer (tracks 3, 4, 6, 8, 11), percussion (tracks 2, 6, 7), MPC (track 1), electric sitar (track 3), piano (track 4), drones (track 6), drums (track 7), strings (track 9), HC-TT (track 12)
• Kody Nielson – drums (tracks 1–4, 6, 8–12), synthesizer (tracks 8, 10), piano (track 1), percussion (track 8); co-production (tracks 1, 8, 10), additional engineering (track 2–4, 8)
• Jacob Portrait – bass (tracks 3, 4, 6, 12), synthesizer (tracks 2, 12); co-production (tracks 4, 10, 11), additional engineering (tracks 6, 12)
• Naomi Win – violin (tracks 3, 4, 8)
• Quincy McCrary – organ (track 2)
• Chris Nielson – saxophone (track 3)
• Bob Ludwig – mastering
• Neil Krug – cover
• Miles Johnson – layout

Charts

Chart (2018)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [21]	76
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [22]	63
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [23]	98
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [24]	9
Scottish Albums (OCC) [25]	50
UK Albums (OCC) [26]	56
US Billboard 200 [27]	188
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [28]	12
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [29]	35

References

1. Kok, Dan (25 April 2018). "Unknown Mortal Orchestra Go Full-on Psychedelic on 'Sex & Food'". PopMatters . Retrieved 6 July 2018.
2. Martin, Liam. Sex & Food – Unknown Mortal Orchestra at AllMusic. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
3. "Unknown Mortal Orchestra 'Sex & Food' (album stream)". Exclaim! . 5 April 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
4. Monroe, Jazz (9 April 2018). "Unknown Mortal Orchestra: Sex & Food Album Review". Pitchfork . Retrieved 9 April 2018.
5. "Unknown Mortal Orchestra Announce New Album Sex & Food". Pitchfork. 8 February 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
6. "Sex & Food – Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Secretly Store". ecretlystore.com. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
7. "Unknown Mortal Orchestra – "American Guilt"". Spin . 23 January 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
8. "Unknown Mortal Orchestra announce new album, Sex & Food, share video for "American Guilt"". Consequence of Sound . 8 February 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
9. "Unknown Mortal Orchestra Share New Single "Not in Love We're Just High"". Paste Magazine . 27 February 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
10. "Daily Dose: Unknown Mortal Orchestra, "Everyone Acts Crazy Nowadays"". Paste Magazine . 23 March 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
11. "Sex & Food by Unknown Mortal Orchestra Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic . Retrieved 28 June 2018.
12. Zaleski, Annie (6 April 2018). "Wye Oak, Eels, and more albums to know about this week". The A.V. Club . Retrieved 9 April 2018.
13. Egan, Liam (6 April 2018). "Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Sex & Food". Clash . Retrieved 9 April 2018.
14. Gee, Chris (3 April 2018). "Sex & Food". Exclaim! . Retrieved 6 April 2018.
15. Smith, Thomas (4 April 2018). "Unknown Mortal Orchestra – 'Sex & Food' Review". NME . Retrieved 6 April 2018.
16. Bermingham, Finbarr (3 April 2018). "Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Sex & Food". The Skinny . Retrieved 6 April 2018.
17. "Unknown Mortal Orchestra: Sex & Food". Q (384): 114. May 2018.
18. "Unknown Mortal Orchestra: Sex & Food". Uncut (252): 37. May 2018.
19. "「Sex & Food / セックス・アンド・フード」 | Hostess Entertainment Unlimited". Hostess Entertainment Unlimited (in Japanese). Retrieved 18 September 2020.
20. Sex & Food (CD liner notes). Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Jagjaguwar. 2018. JAG322.
21. "ARIA Chart Watch #468". auspOp. 14 April 2018. Archived from the original on 2 August 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
22. "Ultratop.be – Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Sex & Food" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
23. "Dutchcharts.nl – Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Sex & Food" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
24. "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 16 April 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
25. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
26. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
27. "Unknown Mortal Orchestra Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
28. "Unknown Mortal Orchestra Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
29. "Unknown Mortal Orchestra Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 April 2018.