It’s astonishing to look at where Ulver are today and to think back to where they have come from. These eclectic Norwegians began their life as a black metal band heavily influenced by their national folklore. Nowadays they are a genre-busting electronica act. Of course the notorious black metal scene, in Norway especially, is not well known for its overwhelming tolerance for other musical creeds...quite the opposite. Along their bumpy ride Ulver have had to put up constantly with the purists scoffing at their departure from the black metal scene that spawned them. Everyone else who has given them a listen in this time meanwhile has been astonished by their musical explorations.
From the trip-hop of 'Perdition City' to the ambience of 'Shadows of the Sun', Ulver have been at the forefront of cutting edge electronic music now for over a decade. The long-awaited 'Wars of the Roses' is the first release by the band since they became a regular touring act again in 2009, and since English multi-instrumentalist Daniel O’Sullivan joined to make the act a quartet; a quartet that has made a masterpiece.
What makes 'Wars of the Roses' such a brilliant record is the atmosphere of the whole thing. From the first second of opener 'February MMX' through to the dying moments of 'Stone Angels', this is a captivating experience. This is not background music, this is something that sucks you into its majestic currents and keeps you there, all to itself. Switching with consummate ease between light and dark, Ulver have truly reached the peak of their powers here. What is perhaps most impressive however is that, despite this clearly being a largely experimental effort, much of the material present has enough immediacy to appeal to fans from a variety of listening backgrounds. Unlike many of their previous efforts, 'Wars of the Roses', despite its experimental tendencies, is a record that for the most part features songs above all else. The powerful tones of vocalist Garm are not ever present but enough of a focus to mean that this record is far more easily accessible than large swathes of 'Perdition City' or 'Blood Inside'.
The songwriting skill present is enhanced by the dreamlike quality of the record, as opposed to some of the more nightmarish efforts Ulver have created in the past. Take third track 'Providence', which is arguably the centrepiece of the record. Contrasting Garm’s rich tones with the delicate but no less striking voice of Siri Stranger, 'Providence' will take you to a far away realm of imagination if you are willing to let it, which you should as the destination of your journey will be a blissful one indeed.
For the musical purist this album is undeniably going to be a little bit of a tricky ride. It is not altogether easy to figure out what you’re actually hearing at any one moment on this record. The now trademark Ulver array of electronic scribbles, only broadened with the arrival of O’Sullivan in the ranks, are combined with flashes of recognisable instruments. The best example of this wide array of sounds comes in closer 'Stone Angels' which is the only song on the record that could really be accused, completely fairly, of not being so much a song as a purely experimental piece. Featuring O’Sullivan reading a poem by Keith Waldrop over a swell of ambient soundscapes, 'Stone Angels' stretches on for a whole fourteen minutes although, for this listener at least, it is a fourteen minutes that floats by in a haze of glorious tranquillity. For some the closing track will be an inconvenience or unnecessarily artsy touch to the record but in fact sums up some of what is most brilliant about it. There is restraint and texture, light and shade, art and song. No, it actually does not matter one bit that there are no prominent guitars or indeed that there is an absence of prominent instrumentation at all for the majority of the running time; this is still an effort of musical genius. In fact, this is probably the best album that 2011 will see.
'Wars of the Roses' is out on K-Scope Records on April 25th.
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