War Stories (album)

War Stories is the third album from Unkle. The album was released in Japan on 20 June 2007 Europe and the UK on 9 July 2007, followed by a 24 July release date in North America. War Stories debuted at #58 in Australia. The album was promoted by three singles: "Burn My Shadow", "Hold My Hand" and "Restless". The video for "Burn my Shadow" featured the actor Goran Višnjić.

The cover art was designed by 3D of Massive Attack.

The track "Chemistry" is used as the instrumental track for "Hello/Goodbye (Uncool)" by Lupe Fiasco from his 2007 album Lupe Fiasco's The Cool. Lupe Fiasco chose War Stories as his #1 album of the year as posted to a video on Myspace.

The song "Burn My Shadow" was used during the climax of the movie Repo Men. It was also featured in an Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood trailer and the trailer for the 2009 video game Fuel.

Reviews of the album were generally favorable. Notably, the tracks "Burn My Shadow" and "When Things Explode" (which are thematically similar and feature the vocals of Ian Astbury) received nearly universal praise, even from negative or mediocre reviews such as those written by Pitchfork Media and NME.

Track listing

1. "Intro" – 0:22
2. "Chemistry" – 3:22
3. "Hold My Hand" – 4:59
4. "Restless" (featuring Josh Homme) – 5:04
5. "Keys to the Kingdom" (featuring Gavin Clark) – 4:45
6. "Price You Pay" – 6:22
7. "Burn My Shadow" (featuring Ian Astbury) – 4:57
8. "Mayday" (featuring The Duke Spirit) – 3:18
9. "Persons & Machinery" (featuring Autolux) – 6:04
10. "Twilight" (featuring 3D) – 5:21
11. "Morning Rage" – 5:15
12. "Lawless" – 2:36
13. "Broken" (featuring Gavin Clark) – 4:42
14. "When Things Explode" (featuring Ian Astbury) – 5:32
15. "Buying a Lie" (featuring Lee Gorton) (Australian and Japanese bonus track plus in the UK on Indie Limited Edition) – 4:25
16. "Mistress" (featuring Alice Temple) (Australian and Japanese bonus track plus in the UK on Indie Limited Edition) – 3:48
17. "Tired of Sleeping" (hidden track) – 6:26

Disc two of the limited edition (SURR05CDXX)

1. "Hold My Hand" (Instrumental) – 4:59
2. "Restless" (Instrumental) – 5:04
3. "Keys to the Kingdom" (Instrumental) – 4:45
4. "Price You Pay" (Instrumental) – 6:22
5. "Burn My Shadow" (Instrumental) – 4:57
6. "Mayday" (Instrumental) – 3:18
7. "Persons & Machinery" (Instrumental) – 6:04
8. "Twilight" (Instrumental) – 5:21
9. "Morning Rage" (Instrumental) – 5:15
10. "Lawless" (Instrumental) – 2:36
11. "Broken" (Instrumental) – 4:42
12. "When Things Explode" (Instrumental) – 5:32

Exclusive pre-order bonus CD

1. Autolux, "Turnstile Blues (UNKLE Surrender Sounds Session 4)"
2. UNKLE, "A Wash of Black" (Instrumental UNKLE Remix of Muse's "Supermassive Black Hole")
3. Black Mountain, "No Hits" (UNKLE Surrender Sounds Session 3)
4. UNKLE, "Burn My Shadow (Jesse Somfay Mix)"