Firstly, I’d recommend any Ulver album. Their discography explores a number of genres, including Atmospheric Black Metal, Trip Hop, Glitch, Movie Soundtracks, Post-Rock; generally just a bunch of experimental music. They’ve gone from playing in seedy bars to performing at the Norwegian National Opera, and are one of the most accomplished bands that I can think of. For this release, their twelfth, they took the recording process out of the studio and brought it on the road. The material used here was recorded in 13 different venues on 13 different dates, and largely builds on themes established at previous live shows. Most of the material is improvised, and features long, droning passages, tribal percussion, minimalist guitars, electronic instrumentals, and stripped down vocals. Even though it clocks in at around 80 minutes, I felt like it was over before I knew it. The melodies seamlessly meld into one another, inviting multiple and intent listens. This album is all about atmosphere, and I envy anyone who had the opportunity to witness Ulver’s moody stage presence involved in creating this monolith.
Knut Gliddi is an Apollos editor, read his bio here!