Ulver "A Quick Fix of Melancholy" CD
[Jester]
Ulver seems to be fond of the EP these days, and while I'd prefer another "Perdition City", these brief releases hold me over just fine. Opener "Little Blue Birds" clearly states that this EP is a lot different than the last few, what with its orchestral synths and operatic vocals and a quick melodic loop in the background. The vocals shift to soft singing (under some delay and effects) over a modified version of the introductory orchestrations as glitchy electronics slowly fade into the fold and the track ends similarly to how it began. "Doom Sticks" begins fucking superbly with shuffling electronic noises and excellent melodic synths, though it's sadly disrupted by the sudden introduction of a percussive beat and some lead synth lines that I don't like at all because the tones have a far less professional feel (read: they sound sort of hokey and soundtrack-ish) compared to the rest of the track - thus disturbing the otherwise pristine atmosphere. "Vowels" is musically very soft and subtle, while the vocals are kind of overdramatic singing, but it works... especially when the singing is ever so slightly doubled. There are lots of ethereal textures going on, and I'm not even bothered by the horns, which would normally irritate me. The strings at the end are fucking awesome though, definitely bringing the track to a wonderful apex. Appearing as a bonus track that almost appeared on the "Ulver 1993 - 2003: 1st Decade in the Machines" compilation is "Eitttlane", a reworking of "Nattleite" from the "Kveldssanger" album - and it rules, so thankfully it appears here! Recognizable elements of the original track appear deep in the background behind some ringing tones and carefully placed drones, as well as some strings and choral vocals (very subtle) - the percussion is masterfully manipulated as well. Great work on this one. The CD comes in a glossy gatefold digipack with fairly simple artwork. The cover has a charcoal drawing of a figure, the center is mostly white with the tracklist and some minimal information about the recording, and the back has an illustrative design of a winged knife through a heart (sort of like a tattoo design) above some interesting text: "...little bird in white worlds, singing nothing to hear, without heed of the heart, cut by the swords of heaven." This EP isn't Ulver's strongest work, of course, but everything here is better than his abysmal contribution to the "Merzbow - Frog: Remixed and Revisited" compilation. It's worth it for the last two tracks alone, in my opinion. Though really, "Doom Sticks" is the only throwaway track on the disc, and just barely. It's fucking Ulver, so just check it out and shut up already! (7/10)
Running time - 23:07, Tracks: 4
[Notable tracks: Vowels, Eitttlane]
Jester Records - http://www.jester-records.com

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