The one thing we should all expect from Unkle by now is that each album is going to be dramatically different from what came before. There was a faction of fans who grew disinterested after the follow-up to the DJ Shadow-influenced Psyence Fiction, as if he were the cruxpin of Unkle in their eyes. Similarly, there will be those who find they may no longer be along for the ride if they grew too comfortable during Never, Never, Land. In fact, lack of comfort is the one thing Unkle fans should hold on to as a constant. Because now we have War Stories.

The fact that James Lavalle is a DJ should tip people off to the Unkle ethos. Each album has been one massive distillation of sounds, styles and guests. It's made to flow. It's made from parts. And they are small journeys unto themselves. But quite unlike a DJ, the canvas has been changing each time. For their first record, the emphasis was more an experimentation with breakbeat and hip-hop influences. The second time around, that changed to a much more cinematic and spacey soundscape. With War Stories, we catch a glimpse of what happens when Lavalle starts his own... well, rock band.

For a hint into the directional style of the record, look no further than some of the guest contributors this time around: Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age, Ian Astbury of The Cult, Autolux, 3D of Massive Attack, Gavin Clark of Clayhill, and The Duke Spirit. Add to that vocals by James Lavalle himself, and fellow Unkle-ite Richard File... and you start to understand the scope of the record they're going for.

After the instrumental punch of "Chemistry", Lavalle opens things up with "Hold My Hand," which is as dark and brooding as anything they've done. The groove rock and buzzing bass of "Restless" follows, and with it a foundation for the rest of the album. It twists and turns and thumps and glitches into a groove-tastic rock opus. "Burn My Shadow", featuring Ian Astbury, is the lead-off single for the album and follows suit admirably. In general, there are a lot of loose, jangly, or fuzzy guitars augmented by razor-sharp drum fills, and forever thick and muscular bass licks. This is a rock record with both teeth and brains. It's loose enough to be authentic, yet typically spacious and grand enough to be Unkle.