Ulver "Blood Inside" CD
[Jester]
Ulver is easily one of the most progressive bands of all time, and right now there's no question that they're among the most creative and inventive (not to mention unpredictable) acts out there. So when it comes time to see the release of their first full-length in an astounding five years, it becomes hard not to harbor unreasonably high expectations for something completely epic and brilliant. And when their last proper full-length was the unbelievably incredible "Perdition City", it also becomes rather complicated to avoid comparing the present to the past. But if there's one thing to have been learned from Ulver's various metamorphoses over the years, it's that the new is not the old. If it sounds like I'm setting this review up to cushion the fact that I don't like this record as much as "Perdition City", it's because that is in fact true. But if there's anything else to have been learned from Ulver's various metamorphoses over the years, it's that anything that bears the Ulver name is going to be damn good on one level or another. So yes, while not nearly as far removed from "Perdition City" as, say, "Themes From William Blake's Marriage" was from "Nattens Madrigal", "Blood Inside" is a different beast - perhaps more interconnected in some ways, though no less dynamic, and probably more abstract in some respects - at least in the sense that percussion and electronics tend to dominate the musical landscape, and the songwriting tactics are less immediately memorable or directly "musical". No time is wasted in opening with longest track, seven-minute "Dressed in Black", with its softer, deeper singing and dominant percussion against sparse piano and sustained keyboard notes, as "For the Love of God" follows with a faint bass groove and one of the more memorably active vocal performances of the disc. The character of some the synth orchestrations in areas of this particular piece sound a little lacking compared to what I would normally expect from Ulver (in terms of actual tonality as opposed to the actual arrangements), but I can basically get over that when looking at the big picture. "Christmas" takes a similar road in terms of using piano and percussion to back the vocals, but the layers of drums and percussion work here possess quite a bit more flare, which is actually pretty damn wild. On the other hand, "Blinded by Blood" is far more chilled out, using tons of lush vocal effects and choral harmonies over brooding yet powerfully emotional synth melodies for one of the most moving and forceful selections on the disc, blowing past in the shortest six-and-a-half minutes I've ever experienced - I could probably listen to a full hour's variation on this theme! "It is Not Sound" then surprisingly shifts from laidback electronic loops and sparse restrained singing to acerbic guitar riffing and rigid percussion combined with keyboards and a more rocked out swagger to the vocal delivery that all has some sort of twisted industrial front surging forth, later bringing in an unexpected 70's progressive rock meets classical orchestration lead synth passage to kick off the closing run. "The Truth" manages to allow the instrumentation to lock together a bit more directly without relying on much in the form of traditional performances or structures; and "In the Red" is among the shorter tracks and touches on some fucked up cutups between sampled and manipulated horns and jazzy drumming/bass work that kind of sounds like a weird mix between swingin' big band jaunts and upbeat, cartoony lounge music - a stark contrast to "Your Call" and its six minutes of faint drones and subtle melodies delivered by various techniques, as the music and singing start to create more of a narrative atmosphere with this piece that really has a suggestively cinematic kind of quality happening. And finally, "Operator" is much more chaotic and all over the place, with soaring vocals and some harsh and amelodic guitar solos with lots of loud and in your face percussion and keyboard swells that are somewhat relentless until the layers start to peel away nearer the end. As usual the recording is pristine and makes use of shitloads of complex layering and arrangements, the true magnitude of which could probably never be deduced by listening to the end result. The singing sounds gorgeous throughout, and most of the other elements shift through assorted textures from passage to passage and song to song, so I don't really have any complaints. At times some of the louder and more aggressive mixing exhibited in tracks like "Operator" can sound a little dirty, but everything seems quite intentional, so I've got no quarrels with any of it. The packaging looks nice, as always, with nothing but high contrast red text and designs over white backgrounds, all of which is coated with a high gloss sheen for added effect. The aesthetic is actually quite minimal, and honestly isn't nearly as mindblowing as "Perdition City" was from a visual standpoint, but I guess that's not something to be viewed as a standard or what have you. More so than some of the musical arrangements, the lyrics definitely seem to lead into one anther from track to track, using succinct lines and keeping things evocative without being all that blunt, tending to frequently reference light and dark and blood and god within concepts of life and death, be it the opening track closing with the foreboding notion that, "We dug our own graves a long time ago," or the closing piece stating, "Can you help me? We are alone, Over and out, Out of control..." There's a CD-Rom video included for "It is Not Sound", but I'm not into it. It just seems a little cheesy and underdeveloped. Ulver's usually so artistically advanced on every level that the video just kind of seems like they didn't quite have the means to properly represent what one would have to assume are the complexities of their vision. I'm a little undecided on how I feel about this disc in the end. It's an enjoyable listen, but it's almost one of those things that I respect and appreciate more on an artistic level. I mean, the blunt truth for me is that I like "Perdition City" a lot better than "Blood Inside". As mentioned previously some of the main factors clouding my personal assessment here are that being an immense fan of Ulver, my expectations for this disc after such a long wait were certainly exceeding a realistic level of delivery; and "Perdition City" was an absolute masterpiece - therefore not something that's necessarily able to be topped (and I'm not even insinuating that that's the intention here in any way). But the bottom line is that "Blinded by Blood" is by far the strongest track herein, and not one of these songs could hold a candle to something as massively forceful and moving as, for example, "Porn Piece or the Scars of Cold Kisses". Is this an interesting record? Yes. Is this an intricately arranged and concepted piece of work that boasts an immense level of talent? Absolutely. Will longtime Ulver fans be disappointed? No, they shouldn't be, I'm definitely not. But is this Ulver's best work to date? No. There is, however, that one exceptionally brilliant selection, and none of the contents are decidedly weak. So like everyone else that's followed Ulver for many years, regardless of whether or not they agree with what I've stated above: I remain a huge fan, and will always be excited to hear more. No matter what... Ulver is an ingenious outfit. (7/10)
Running time - 45:47, Tracks: 9
[Notable tracks: Christmas, Blinded by Blood, Your Call]
Jester Records - http://www.jester-records.com

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