Artist · chart history
Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Band Auckland Formed 2010
Unknown Mortal Orchestra formed in 2010 in Auckland. Unknown Mortal Orchestra has 8 chart appearances on 8 radio countdowns from 6 stations on RockLists, spanning 2013–2025. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Sink and Swim (Like a Shark)”, which appears on 1 list with a best position of #17. The station that charted Unknown Mortal Orchestra most often is Impact 89FM (Lansing, MI), with 2 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 2013.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra began as a solo project for Ruban Nielson in Auckland before the multi-instrumentalist moved the operation to Portland, Oregon, and filled it out with his brother Kody Nielson and bassist Jacob Portrait. Fat Possum released their first album in 2011, and from the start the sound was a woozy treasure: psychedelic rock recorded as if through a transistor radio, grooves warped and fuzzy at the edges, Nielson's voice floating over the murk.
Multi-Love, in 2015, is where they cracked open. The title track is a lush, lovesick slow jam wrapped in wobbling synths, with Nielson's voice aching in the middle, and "Can't Keep Checking My Phone" is disco-funk for the anxious age, a strutting bassline and a nervy guitar lick fighting off distraction. It's a record that sounds homemade and huge at the same time, which is exactly the trick UMO pull best.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Unknown Mortal Orchestra on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sink and Swim (Like a Shark) | 1 | #17 | – | 2013 | |
| 2 | That Life | 2 | #42 | – | 2021 | |
| 3 | Hunnybee | 1 | #84 | – | 2018 | |
| 4 | Multi-Love | 1 | #55 | – | 2015 | |
| 5 | Layla | 1 | #69 | – | 2023 | |
| 6 | BOYS WITH THE CHARACTERISTICS OF WOLVES | 1 | #90 | – | 2025 | |
| 7 | Can't Keep Checking My Phone | 1 | #85 | – | 2015 |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Year-end chart timeline
Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.
Every countdown appearance
| Year | # | Song | Countdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 90 | BOYS WITH THE CHARACTERISTICS OF WOLVES | WEQX Top 102.7 of 2025 |
| 2023 | 69 | Layla | Impact 89FM Top 89 Songs of 2023 |
| 2021 | 42 | That Life | WERS Top 88 Songs of 2021 |
| 2021 | 96 | That Life | WEQX Top 102.7 of 2021 |
| 2018 | 84 | Hunnybee | Lightning 100 Top 200 Songs of 2018 |
| 2015 | 85 | Can't Keep Checking My Phone | WFUV Top 90 Songs of 2015 |
| 2015 | 55 | Multi-Love | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2015 |
| 2013 | 17 | Sink and Swim (Like a Shark) | Impact 89FM Top 89 Songs of 2013 |
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