May Album Of The Month Recap: Ulfilas’ Alphabet
On Sunday, May 28, here at The Riff, a wonderful group of regulars and a few newcomers joined us for a chat about Sundara Karma’s sophomore record, Ulfilas’ Alphabet. For many, this was their first time hearing the album and the band, which led to a fun, insightful & fresh talk for our monthly discussion!
For reference on the record: 2019’s Ulfilas’ Alphabet (all-fil-us’) blends elements of psychedelic rock, anthemic glam rock, and modern alternative, sonically reminiscent of David Bowie’s Space Oddity, Foster The People’s Supermodel, and MGMT’s Oracular Spectacular. Lyrically, the record addresses existentialism, awakening, spirituality, death, and quarter-life crises. Anyone curious to know more can read my first piece on it here.
Now, without further ado, some highlights of our discussion:
Terry Barr and Jeffrey Harvey delved into two possible interpretations of “Greenhands,” the third track from the record, dissecting the lyrics below:
Always there when he needed them
So he buried them underground
Alone with the flowers now
Proud of his green hands and blood on his shoes
Then he prayed for the rain to come
Through the cracks in the autumn clouds
Armed with a watering can
Dreaming of the greenest field the bodies would grow
One such interpretation was one of naïveté, from the perspective of an older man living on the outskirts of town, possibly introverted and feels connected more to plants than people, though certainly not from lack of trying. A later lyric describes the man walking into town, shopping for groceries, not just out of necessity, but to “talk with the other men.” It paints a vivid picture of loneliness and the longing for human connection before life ultimately ends.
The second interpretation was more sinister, interpreting the lyrics from the perspective of a loner, but more in a Nightcrawler sort of way where the lead tricks you into thinking he’s innocent, but is actually a) concocting a plan to capture people by force or b) already has, which makes the “bodies would grow” line all the more unsettling. Jeffrey Harvey and I suggested we contact A24 studios to greenlight a screenplay about Greenhands, a deranged loner living outside of town, going into town only to commit murder and bring the bodies back as fertilizer for his garden…aptly titled “Green Thumb.”
As a group, we talked about the genre-fluidity of the album, noting a tonal shift between Side A and Side B (the well-named “The Changeover being the divider of the two sides), but a noticeable tribute to 60s era psychedelic rock and modern alternative, while Steve Goldberg slightly dissented, noting the record’s nod to 80s synth-pop and early new wave bands like The Cure, New Order and another unnamed artist that escaped the tips of our tongues, but I’m linking the album below if anyone can think of it!
During our listening portion, If Ever You’re Listening requested “Sweet Intentions,” a dancey standout of the record that has one of the funniest and out-of-place lyrics of the bunch:
Have you found the reason you’re not bringing home the bacon?
Listen to your body, it’s a prime indication
Of the mess you made
By simply having sweet intentions
We had a blast analyzing the “bringing home the bacon” line, trying to determine whether the sheer absurdity of it was intentional or meant to be a callback to classic one-liners from commercials past. Steve Goldberg made a wonderful insight about said commercials, particularly those for clothing or perfume, being about a wealth symbol to show off to the world, i.e., “the bacon” in question. In contrast, this song seems more introspective and turns the question on its head.
Our other song chosen for the listening portion was “Duller Days,” a nod to Bowie vocally and sonically and one of the most spiritual songs on the album, with lyrics about being:
“immersed in Herbert’s deepest blue”*
*a tribute to Austrian freediver Herbert Nitsch, who has held world records in all of the eight freediving disciplines and is referred to as “the deepest man on earth”)
necromance as common as the flu
(who hasn’t done a little spirit summoning to raise someone back from the dead??) I kid, but I believe this line symbolizes wishing to bring someone, or even a previous version of yourself, back to life, missing them and not being able to do anything to bring them back, despite all efforts.
..and not being able to practice what you preach, though you try your hardest:
Although I preach, I’m never satisfied
Still I remain and feel those duller days
All in all, Ulfilas’ Alphabet is a masterclass in introspection and reinventing yourself. Our group had a great time going through and describing what we loved about the album and connecting our personal experiences and preferences to different aspects of the record! I enjoyed hosting and cannot wait to see which album June’s host Jeffrey Harvey chooses for our chat!
Thank you so much to those who joined for coming, those who read for keeping my writing alive, and all The Riff editors for your work. Catch you all next time!
LISTEN TO “ULFILAS’ ALPHABET” HERE:
