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Ulver: A quick fix of melancholy
31/10/07 || The Duff
Are you ready for this, folks? One of the greatest albums of all time, that leveling Isis’ “Panopticon”, Tool’s “Lateralus”, Mastodon’s “Leviathan” and Devin Townsend’s “Infinity”, yet only comprising four tracks and spanning but a mere twenty minutes, is this here E.P., a stop-gap between the excellent but minimal “Perdition City” and full-bodied, musical tapestry “Blood Inside”. “But Duffy,” I hear you say, “all those albums are shit!”. Well, be that as it may, to me, they are the cream of the crop, and so I hope that my placing Ulver’s EP alongside them is a valid indication as to just how brilliant I think it is – nothing short of absolute perfection.
This EP couldn’t be more aptly titled, for although there are moments of a general upbeat/pensive nature, most of this is very downhearted music, sometimes shifting towards the downright depressing. Garm’s singing (as much as I can make out) only makes an appearance on the opening track, which is a drawn out piece that can appear monotonous at times, but for the most part remains interesting due to Trickster G.‘s impressive and unique vocal work. He makes one final appearance on the closing track (a remix of “Nattleite”, off “Kveldssanger”), except his performance solely comprises some chanting that tugs on the heart in one of the most moving pieces of music I’ve ever heard.
The rest of the vocal-work on this album is primarily performed by both male and female opera singers, and their contributions to this project are of such a professional nature that I wouldn’t be surprised to discover that they sing to the standard as that demanded by a full orchestra. The music isn’t far off from this, although on a smaller scale, suggesting recording, layering and mixing having taken place in a small studio and manipulated with the regular tools found within the electro-musician’s trade.
Instruments include drums, violins, cellos, chimes of some sort, trumpets, a whole bunch of other shit that at times incites a euphoric kind of dreaminess, at others just really gets you down (all chiefly electronic), and I think even a guitar or two. It’s all too tough for me to make out, ‘cos I don’t know enough about this stuff, but all together everything forms a sublime masterpiece that in twenty minutes manages to trounce just about everything I’ve listened to my twenty-four years on this planet.
10 EP’s that own my soul out of 10.
- Information
- Released: 2003
- Label: Jester Records
- Website: www.jester-records.com/ulver
- Band
- Krystoffer Rygg: vocals
- Tore Ylwizaker: synth, bass
- Jorn H. Svaeren: drums
- Tracklist
- 01. Little Blue Bird
- 02. Doom Sticks
- 03. Vowels
- 04. Eitttlane
