Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Unknown Mortal Orchestra's genre-defying approach to music has allowed the band's sound to shift and evolve with every new album. The group's driving force, Ruban Nielson, is a psychedelic explorer with an experimental bent that was clear from the very first home-recorded Unknown Mortal Orchestra album, which paired his soaring guitar work with winsome melodies and trippy production.

Working by himself and with collaborators that included his brother Kody, Nielson has taken the band on a journey touching on acoustic balladry, free jazz, disco, hard rock, and, on 2015's breakthrough album Multi-Love, freaky late-night R&B. No matter the style or setting, Nielson's dedication to exploration and expression make Unknown Mortal Orchestra one of the more interesting acts to come out of the 2010s neo-psych explosion.