Ulver — Shadows of the Sun — recorded 2006–2007, released 1/10/2007
No joke today! I don’t feel like making jokes. I am a serious music review guy, and nothing is more serious than seriously reviewing music. This album’s name is Shadows of the Sun, which clearly makes no sense, because the sun itself is a luminescent object, so of course there is no shadow of the sun itself, only shadows of things that are standing in front of the sun. Scientific misinformation is no laughing matter, folks.
Seriousness aside, this album is quite different from their immediately prior endeavor, Blood Inside. There is a noticeable focus on slowness and texture in here, with almost ambient tracks that mix melancholic chamber-informed cello chords, electronic droning and bleeping, and monotonous (but not boring) crooning on themes such as life, death, love etc. It’s a remarkably dynamic and everchanging album, at least considering how cohesive it is, how much like one continuous thing it feels (even the soemwhat unexpected Black Sabbath cover does not stand out at all). There is noticeably no percussion at all in here :thirst: something that was apparently very intentional.
Once again, the setting of the mood is maybe the single central thing in here. Calling Ulver moody and vibey is old news by now, so suffice to say that they did it once again in here — just in a less sci-fi/suspense way and more in a melancholic european movie way, if that even makes sense. Like much of their other stuff, it’s a work that can easily fade into one hazy mass, which is something that I admire, but will also reward an attentive listen with delicious little morsels here and there, both sound design and composition-wise. Simple, unambitious, but concise and effective lyrics and vocals are the frosting on the cake.
It’s a very solid album. I won’t say it’s a mindblowing album, because I don’t even think that was their objective to begin with. Was Tim Hecker’s objective to blow our minds with The Piano Drop? Did William Basinski intend to nuke everyone from orbit with The Garden of Brokenness? Does Brian Eno entertain the idea of making his fans lose their shit and writhe in the ground like salted worms when he’s fiddling with his little synths? I don’t think so, and I don’t think the three little piggies Kris, Tore and Jørn did when they were making this either. The selection of featured artists and additional musicians speaks for itself: we got a string quartet, obviously, plus a trumpeteer, a guitarist, a theremineer (?) and someone credited fot “supplemental shimmer on track 4”, whatever that means lol.
It’s a great not-quite-ambient-but-kinda-almost-there album, featuring some of Ulver’s most delicate sound design, which is saying something. It’s not something you go into with the same mindset as, say, BI or Perdition City, but it definitely does warrant experiencing on its own terms. It does exactly what it says on the tin, and fulfills its promise to you almost to perfection, so there’s not a whole lotta negative things one could say about it, I think.
DOES IT PULVERIZE? Much like the sun will do to the earth’s surface in but a few decades, exterminating all human life due to our own hubris and greed, it mostly does.
