This is the newest album from perhaps my favorite band in recent memory, Ulver. They currently are completely dominating my last.fm page, not that that should be any real recommendation to most...
Ulver is an interesting band to try and understand. There is such a thing as spicing up your music from album to album, and such a thing as experimenting with new sounds, but Ulver will shit all over your expectations of band continuity. Thus, if you really enjoy this album, I would almost recommend not listening to any of their earlier stuff, because you'll just be confused.
This album is a fairly simple, ambient-ish affair with Garm (the vocalist, aka: Trickster G., aka: Fiery G. Maelstrom, aka: Kristoffer Rygg) really pulling out some of the most expressive vocals in their catalog. The songs on this one are relatively short, and stay just long enough to do what they come to do; you won't ever feel like any of the tracks of overstayed their welcome like you do with many ambient albums. There is also a great deal, in my opinion, to be said for the lyrical content of the songs. They're simple, but poetically potent.
The band's own press release for this album is pretty amusing and adds the oddity that is Ulver:
"Many of you have been waiting for sound, and we are sorry for the silence. We needed to be alone, without the hustle and bustle of the living. We are uncomfortable with the world, the industry and our place. We have been working, sluggishly, well aware we could end up with nothing. Nonetheless we believe we have succeeded in giving our fears some kind of form. SHADOWS OF THE SUN, our 7th full-length album, is finished and will be released October 1st. We feel it is our most personal record to date. Low-key, dark, and tragic. As we are."
Highlights:
3.) Eos
2.) Like Music
1.) All the Love
(PS: "Solitude" is, indeed, a Sabbath cover)
Finally, rather than leave you with a picture of the album cover (which is kind of boring, sunset through ox horns, blah blah blah), I'll leave you with a picture of Garm, because, seriously, look at him.
Here's the link, and a final quote from the band:
"As you all know, by now we are filthy rich and expanding the business. Just look at this stunning new artifact" - right before a picture of the new limited edition run of 200, $89, Ulver cologne.
1 comment:
I got this when it first leaked and didn't pay that much attention to it beyond the initial listen. I have a hard time keeping an interest with spacey post-metal stuff like this, but after you posted it I gave it another shot and found this album pretty decent.
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