UJAKU issue #7 magazine 3.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We recently discovered this excellent 'zine from Australia, which has as its focus experimental music from that country/continent (such as the minimal electronicism of Pimmon and Minit, who are two of the better-known names here, at least to us). Part of the beauty of this 'zine is how it serves as an introduction to a interesting scene that you probably haven't heard much about if you live in this hemisphere. Also, there's a healthy review section covering not only Aussie artists but all kinds of other international AQ-approved things from the Melvins to Sensational, from Schoolly D to Mouse on Mars, all well written and individual. You'll also notice some seemingly incongrous coverage of stuff in the metal realm (there's reviews of Immortal and Peccatum, and pics of metal-oriented graffiti!), demonstrating a broadminded taste in all forms of extreme and unusual music, something that we always applaud here at Aquarius.

UKE OF SPACES CORNERS COUNTY So Far On The Way (Corleone) cd 10.98
By now you probably realize, that it's easy to win us over with the right band name, at least initially. Fuck I'm Dead, Bathtub Shitter, Throne Of Blood... Tempting and tantalizingly teasing us with whatever weirdness may lurk inside. Often, it stops at the band name, as if in a single burst of creativity, the band came up with THE NAME, and then were forced to soldier on with the whole job of writing songs and recording a record, made even more difficult by the completely drained reservoir of creative juices.
So as always, we were immediately tickled by Uke Of Spaces Corners County, but then entered with a certain amount off trepidation, having been burned before. Thankfully, So Far On The Way was anything but a disappointment, in fact, if anything, not only did it manage to not disappoint, it also didn't sound anything like we expected.
It's on Corleone to begin with, home of Landed, The Body, Throne Of Blood, Mindflayer and plenty of soundfuckers, so we were sort of expecting something, noisy maybe, and there's the band name, but instead, UOSCC are some sort of folk music, damaged and what-the-fuck enough to seem right at home on Corleone, but undoubtedly folk music, of the freaked out, stumbling and strange weirdo outsider stripe that we dig so much.
The opener, "Dead Pens", is downright gorgeous, minor key distorted main riff, the vocals plaintive and emotional, lyrics appropriately bizarre and random, the track a convoluted crawl, peppered with sound FX and finishing off with a haphazard choir of back up vocalists. But for all its weirdness and musical damage, it's totally beautiful, like Bright Eyes on some brain melting cocktail of Thorazine and peyote...
Things continue on in the same druggy musical haze, on the verge of falling apart, but without losing any emotion or becoming any less catchy. From the distorted beat driven folky strum jam of "Today The Mirror", with it's strange staccato break down, and awesome juxtaposition of damaged drum machine sounding beat and steel string riff. To the hiss drenched Appalachia of "This Old World", an old timey classic transported direct from some a Southern homestead in the thirties, to some broken 4-track in a musty old warehouse in New Orleans today. And like all the tracks, it's the vocals again, tying it all together, soaring and crooning, sometime slipping into a haunting and wavering falsetto, cracking here and there, but always weaving a mysterious and powerful spell.
In some ways it reminds us of a less Brit obsessed Strapping Fieldhands, a lo-fi bedroom folk, strangely lush for all it's lo-fi-ness, and filtered through classic back porch twang, spacy reverb drenched drone guitar, sweet major key melodies, and of course random streaks and squalls of psychedelic noise, angular guitar scrape, splatters of percussion and random other bits of sonic detritus.
Something even freakier than all that freak folk, original, heartfelt, ramshackle, and so goddamn good.
MPEG Stream: "Dead Pens"
MPEG Stream: "Today The Mirror"

ULAAN KHOL I (Soft Abuse) cd 14.98
By now, we should be able to safely assume that most AQ list-readers know who Steven R. Smith is. Not only that, but we know a lot of you are in fact big S.R.S. fans, of his solo projects under his own name and as Hala Strana, as well as for his participation in such outfits as Mirza and Jewelled Antler flagship Thuja. Certainly this should be the case after the last few S.R.S. releases. First there was his Owl album that came out a month or two ago, with his first ever vocal performance to go along with his lovely psych-drone guitar. Then two lists ago we had the cd reissue of his Anchorite album, which we made Record Of The Week in fact. And now there's Ulaan Khol. On it you can almost imagine that Steven has donned the black shades and leather jacket of the Tokyo psych underground scene, as this sounds like something that LSD-march, Up-Tight or even Keiji Haino himself might conjure. Acid Mothers Temple's Kawabata Makoto too. But even then, it probably wouldn't be this cosmic and bleakly beautiful.
Suitably majestic sounding, as part of a proposed three album trilogy, Ulaan Khol I consists of nine untitled, instrumental tracks made with guitar and organ. It's a spacious drift of big fuzzy distortion and fragile drone bliss... utterly entrancing. The sort of thing that you just want to keep going, and going... well thank god there's another two volumes of Ulaan Khol yet to come! Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "track 3"
MPEG Stream: "track 9"

ULAN BATOR D-construction (Les Disques du Soleil et de l'Acier) cd 12.98
This French post-rock band remixed by an all-star cast of characters: Japanese turntablist Otomo Yoshihide, the ubiquitous electronica fella Scanner, French turntablist Erik M and local computer music maven Carl Stone (our favorite mix here), each revising using his respective set of tools. The result: post-post-rock, all hacked and chopped and stuttery. Really quite nice.

ULAN BATOR Ego : Echo (Young God) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
"Ego : Echo" is certainly one of the mightiest, ahem, 'post-rock' records of the year, simply because every other post-rock band has unfortunately followed the Thrill Jockey (Tortoise, Isotope) path to jazz fusion. Ulan Bator is a French trio who employed the talents of the Swans' Michael Gira to produce this, their latest album. Gira -- who also released this through his Young God label -- makes his presence known with a majestic yet depressed sound that permeates the strangled grooves of Ulan Bator. If you take both the mellowest and most thunderous extremes of the best Mogwai and filter it through Circle's patented rhythm hypnosis and the Swans' bleakness, and factor in the Frenchness aspect, you'll get close to what Ulan Bator sounds like. Pretty great. Their previous records didn't get much notice over here in the States, but perhaps things will change with this release. And you might also recall seeing a favorable review of their recent remixes disc on AQ-L #97 -- if you were wondering just what this band was that Carl Stone, Otomo Yoshihide, et.al. were messing with, then "Ego : Echo" is the thing to check out.
RealAudio clip: "Hemisphere"

ULAN BATOR Nouvel Air (Les Disques du Soleil et de l'Acier) cd 14.98
Ulan Bator's previous album Ego: Echo was released over here on Michael Gira's Young God label in 2000, and we liked it quite a bit ("one of the mightiest, ahem, 'post-rock' records of the year"). Well turns out that UB made a new album just last year, 2003, but being an import-only item from their home country of France we've only just discovered it. And instead of having Gira at the helm, they've enlisted the help of another '80s alt-rock artist, Robin Guthrie of the Cocteau Twins, to mix and master Nouvel Air. Dunno if it's his influence or what, but this new UB has got to be their most 'pop' album yet. Smooth, mellow and melodic French language indie rock, really quite lovely but not immediately encouraging the comparisons to Mogwai and Circle we applied to Ego: Echo's weighty grooves. Languid, sad, romantic...sure it's less post- and more pop, but it's hard to argue with how pretty this is! UB just have a more subtle majesty than before.
MPEG Stream: "Nouvel Air"
MPEG Stream: "Solide Ete"

ULAN BATOR Vegetale (Les Disques du Soleil et de l'Acier) cd 16.98
U.B.'s second album of Tortoise/Sonic Youth/krautrock stylin's, as featured in the recent Wire magazine article on French post-rock bands.

ULMER, JAMES BLOOD Harmolodic Guitar With Strings (DIW) cd 18.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Yes, the harmolodic electric guitar of Ulmer combined with the violins, violas and cellos of the Quartette Indigo. Quite lovely. Includes a version of Ulmer's "Theme From Captain Black". On the Japanese jazz label DIW.

ULTIMATE FAKEBOOK Open Up And Say Awesome (Initial Records) cd 14.98
Initial has been heading toward Vagrant territory putting out way more pop than punk lately. But who are we to complain. Especially if it means we get records this good. Super produced, kick ass, totally catchy power pop. Haven't dug a straight up pop record this much since the last Get Up kids record or since we discovered The Stereo. Think midwest emo, blossoming into gorgeous four chord pop punk, but not pop punk like Green Day/Blink 182, but punky pop like Weezer or the Posies or any of the Vagrant bands (GUK, the Anniversary). Huge guitars, hooky melodies, scratchy Elvis Costello-ish vocals, and a great production. For anyone in need of a fresh dose of pop, this will definitely hit the spot.
RealAudio clip: "Wrestling Leap Year"
RealAudio clip: "The Scheme To Listen No More"

ULTRA Big Time (Our Turn) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We brought this in cos folks can't seem to get enough of Dr. Octagon album, which despite being somewhat impossible to find outside of the Bay Area, has turned out to be one of our biggest sellers of 1996. That self-titled record is still available from us (12.98 cd or 2xlp -- cover art by Pushead!), but if you've already got that AND the instrumental version of the record (brilliantly manipulated by the Automator), then you may want to check out this collaboration between Octagon rapper Kool Keith with Tim Dogg. Over more conventional hip hop beats, the rapping is just as deft, biting and funny as the Doc Oc record.

ULTRA s/t (Monster) cd 12.98
Thin Lizzy meets ZZ Top, basically. Ultra was a mid-'70s quartet of hard rockin' Texans featuring a twin lead guitar attack through some big ass Marshall stacks. Like a lot of Monster Records' other '70s re-discoveries (Truth & Janey, Winterhawk) Ultra's brand of music was killed off by the disco and punk trends of their era. They broke up in '78, but not before releasing 100 copies of a 5-song promo-only LP that you'll find on this cd, augmented by 11 additional, unreleased studio recordings of the same vintage. Ultra's guitars are awesome, Lizzy fans will agree, but we must warn you that vocalist Don Evan's bluesy good-ole-boy stylings may be a stumbling block for some. Ultra certainly is some good dumb fun though, cowbell-knockin', hot rockin' Texas style.
RealAudio clip: "Mutants"

ULTRA LIVING Transgression (After Hours / Bubblecore) cd 14.98
Weird Japanese indie pop/electronica/jazz group, described as some impossible combination of salsa, beats, and Zappa, or something like that. Their brand of willful eclecticism is of the very brave (foolish?) variety, where they don't so much fuse genres as skip among them from track to track, making this sound almost more like a compilation than a band. For instance, track four is an interpretation of Ornette Coleman's "Skies of America", with saxophones a-plenty, but by track six we're experiencing a hip hop song featuring guest MC Mike Ladd. Other guests and musical approaches are introduced over the course of the album, but at least one unifying factor is the recurrence of saxophones, and another is the recurring vocals of Kyoko Brown, who manages to come as close as a Japanese (-American?) woman can to sounding like Mike Patton, appropriate since I'd imagine that Mr. Bungle fans looking for something in the electronica vein would go for this... Interesting!

ULTRA MILKMAIDS Mort Aux Vaches (Staalplaat) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
After several releases for the labels run by Telepherique and Troum/Maeror Tri (Drone Records), Ultra Milkmaids was commissioned by VPRO radio in Holland to broadcast their isolationist drones redolent of Main or Rafael Toral with odd electronica bits of processed field recordings that end up sounding like a slow and sparse Matmos. Very nice and very limited.

ULTRA MILKMAIDS Oldies Vol. 1 (Manifold) cd 14.98

ULTRA MILKMAIDS Peps (Whole) cd 16.98
I've always wanted to give Ultra Milkmaids the benefit of the doubt. They've started out on the wrong foot by acquiring such a horrible name, but like Terminal Cheesecake, have been able to transcend their crappy moniker. Their contribution to the Drone Records singles series was a beautiful cascading guitar drone rippling with subtle melodies. I wish I could say the same for "Peps," but honestly I can't. Ultra Milkmaids has joined the increasing exodus of post-industrialists to the powerbook set (another example Mikael Stavostrand). This is Oval without the detail. Then a questionably used lounge sax solo adds that lost detail. Hmmm... But, that aside, much of this is quite lovely, just nothing super new.

ULTRA RED Plan de Austeridad - BBC Remixes (Beta Bodega) 12" 8.98

ULTRALYD Chromosome Gun (Load) cd 14.98
Noisy jazz skronk from Noxagt members, on Load.

ULTRALYD Conditions For A Piece Of Music (Rune Grammofon) cd 16.98
New on Rune Grammofon, the latest relaxed blast of atmospheric instrumental improv from Ultralyd, the Norwegian extreme "jazz" outfit that features folks from Load label noiserockers Noxagt (old AQ pal, bassist Kjetil Brandsdal) and Rune G electronic spazzcore duo Moha! (guitarist Anders Hana and drummer Morten J. Olsen). The quartet is rounded out by another Kjetil, last name Moster, on saxophones. Together they stir up some trouble in the vein of countrymen Supersilent, Shining, and Jagga Jazzist, filtered through several spins of John Zorn's Morricone tribute The Big Gundown, perhaps. Ultralyd swing haunting cinematic soundscapes packed with percolating grooves and eerie drones, tense guitar skree and jaunty horn tootin'. We like.
MPEG Stream: "Saprochord"
MPEG Stream: "Comphonie V"
MPEG Stream: "Musica Imperativa"

ULTRALYD Improv (FMR) cd 14.98
Noxagt-connected Norwegian skronk jazz band!!

ULTRAMAGNETIC MC'S Four Horsemen (Wild Pitch) cd 15.98

ULTRAMAGNETIC MCS B Sides (Next Plateau) cd 15.98
Great remixes, including some '97 versions incorporating relatively new skool Dr. Octagon samples into old skool UMC favorites.

ULTRAMAGNETIC MCS B Sides (Next Plateau) lp 8.98
Great remixes, including some '97 versions incorporating relatively new skool Dr. Octagon samples into old skool UMC favorites.

ULTRAVIOLET MAKES ME SICK Soundproof (Camera Obscura) cd 15.98
Three adorable Italian boys playing mellow instrumental post-rock. Lots of soaring guitars in the background, with anguished minor key figerpicking up front. More about creating a real mood than about verse-chorus-verse, y'know. Not as loud as Mogwai, not as quiet as Sonna, but drawing from both of those band's vibes. Unremarkable but quite pleasant. It'll be interesting to hear future material when they truly find their own sound.
RealAudio clip: "Faye"

ULVER 1993-2003: 1st Decade In The Machines (Jester) cd 14.98
Lupine Norwegian tricksters Ulver have been around for 10 years now, and mark the occasion with this invitational remix album, something very appropriate for a group whose whole career has been about morphing and reinventing themselves, remaining weirdo outsiders in whatever genre they visit. A decade ago they started out (and still have some residual allegiance to) the Nordic black metal genre, but today we're not sure what genre they claim, certainly it's not metal anymore. Glitchy electronica and downtempo beats took over from buzzing guitars and blast beats, but there's a definite connection between the two as this project proves.
Remixers include Ulver themselves (whose track goes way back to their Vargnatt demo tape from '93 for source material) and an international cast of experimentalists: Merzbow, Fennesz, Stars Of The Lid, Neotropic, Bogdan Raczynski, Third Eye Foundation, Information, Upland, Pita, V/Vm, Jazzkammer and a few others. An impressive and unusual line-up, certainly not entirely what we expected. Some do drones, some delve into beat-scapes, while others go for the raw black stuff, such as Merzbow (of course) whose ten-minute "Vow me Ibrzu" is one of the highlights, being a properly scary and noisy trawl through the evil riffage of Ulver's metallic past. Quite a few of the mixes are drawn from Ulver's more recent electronica efforts (Perdition City, the Silence eps, and the Lycantropen Themes soundtrack), but not all -- early stuff from Ulver's classic lycanthropian "Trilogie" of black metal albums (Bergtatt and Nattens Madrigal specifically) makes it on here as well. Several more mixes derive from Ulver's industrial version of William Blake's Marriage of Heaven and Hell, the double cd that was an early signpost of Ulver's willingness to violate genre norms and musical categorization. Like it says here, wolves evolve...
MPEG Stream: FENNESZ "Only The Poor Have To Travel"
MPEG Stream: UPLAND "Lost In Moments Remix"
MPEG Stream: MERZBOW "Vow me Ibrzu"

ULVER A Quick Fix Of Melancholy (Viva Hate) 10" 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now available on vinyl for a limited time, this strange little moody ep From Norwegian horde Ulver, no black metal here though, this is later, the ambient electronic mysterious side of the band that created the grim blackbuzz classic Nattens Madrigal.
Red vinyl, printed inner sleeve. And of course super limited...
The title doesn't lie. This 2003 transmission from those Norwegian eccentrics Ulver consists of but four songs, a sampling of gothic glitch rock, the sad-synth-symphonic soundtrack to a ghost story left to you to imagine. The melodies and electronic beats give little clue to Ulver's origins as a vulpine black metal band, although the final track is in fact a rearrangement of a piece from their 1996 Kveldssanger opus, and makes an ominous, distortion-filled ending to the ep without altering the mood already set by the chamber strings and doleful male singing of the previous three tracks. With this ep, Ulver continue their ectoplasmic existence as a restless spirit that filters through many musical bodies, fully possessing none but leaving weird nightmares behind...
MPEG Stream: "Little Blue Bird"
MPEG Stream: "Eitttlane"

ULVER A Quick Fix Of Melancholy EP (Jester) cd 10.98
The title doesn't lie. This latest transmission from those Norwegian eccentrics Ulver consists of but four songs, a sampling of gothic glitch rock, the sad-synth-symphonic soundtrack to a ghost story left to you to imagine. The melodies and electronic beats give little clue to Ulver's origins as a vulpine black metal band, although the final track is in fact a rearrangement of a piece from their 1996 Kveldssanger opus, and makes an ominous, distortion-filled ending to the ep without altering the mood already set by the chamber strings and doleful male singing of the previous three tracks. With this ep, Ulver continue their ectoplasmic existence as a restless spirit that filters through many musical bodies, fully possessing none but leaving weird nightmares behind...
MPEG Stream: "Little Blue Bird"
MPEG Stream: "Eitttlane"

ULVER Blood Inside (The End) cd 13.98
Ulver. Once one of Norway's black metal, Viking wolfpacks. Worshipping at the dark throne of, ah, Darkthrone. But those days are long past... Ulver have evolved. You know this. Electronica. Techno. Goth. Post-rock. Soundtracks. Pop. Drone. All these things, good things...but no longer black metal. If you've followed the chameleons known as Ulver this far, and you've liked *everything* they've done, then you're gonna like Blood Inside too. But if you've had your doubts, then maybe this is gonna be the toughest one to swallow yet (despite what we heard pre-release about how "heavy" it was gonna be). 'Cause now they kinda sound like Tears For Fears. Tears For Fears at the circus.
Ok, it's not all like that. But there is a lot of singing. And gently gloomy pop atmospheres, and filmic orchestration, and weird progginess, and yes, some heaviness. Maybe later we'll realize this is Ulver's Faith No More's Angel Dust. However, one track features what sounds like an unanswered cell-phone ringing...and ringing. Who needs that on a cd??
Sorry, at first blush we're just not feeling it. Yet maybe Ulver have evolved beyond us. We'll give 'em the benefit of the doubt. But, we can definitely say that if you gave up at their last true studio-recorded full-length album before this one, Perdition City (as did Andee), this won't bring you back. And even if you liked that or subsequent releases like Teachings In Silence (which Allan considers the best post-black metal Ulver) or the A Quick Fix Of Melancholy ep you should check this out but it *might* be too Tears For Fearsy for you nonetheless. Of course, we're sure there's a whole audience for this (Tears For Fears fans?) that have never even heard of Ulver before... but we doubt they're reading this. It's tough. We want to like this. And maybe you will. But the ultimate test had to be, if it didn't say Ulver on it, would we even be listening? The textural glitch improv loveliness of Teachings In Silence definitely passed that test. This, though, well, it might take a few more listens...therein lies the paradox. I guess I'd better take one home just to be on the safe side.
Additional note: this comes enhanced with a video track for your computer.
MPEG Stream: "For The Love Of God"
MPEG Stream: "It Is Not Sound"

ULVER Lyckantropen Themes (Jester) cd 13.98
This latest release from unclassifiable Norwegian electronica experimentalists Ulver (y'know, the not-a-black-metal-band-anymore-so-don't-even-ask Ulver) is a soundtrack to some sort of arty werewolf film (we think, check out the trailer at http://www.lyckantropen.com/trailer.php) by Swedish director Steve Ericsson. Following on in the style of their recent, quite nice "improv-glitch" eps (collected on the Teachings In Silence cd reviewed last list), Ulver's music for Ericsson's film is suitably dark and moody -- and glitchily melodic. Loops and crackle and synth drones, almost entirely instrumental, in a very "modern" electronic vein -- not a bit like Ulver's previous werewolf-themed albums (Nattens Madrigal for instance)! You'll hear no distorted metallic Darkthrone worship here (although things get a little frantic on the disc's tenth and final track). This is informed more by the likes of Tarwater and Autechre and downtempo electronica, and they do it well. Scoring soundtracks may indeed be Ulver's new true calling, though we'd still love it if they'd surprise us again in the future with yet another new direction. As good as this is, they've yet to really be as original or unique in their adopted/adapted "electronica" guise as they were in the realm of black metal.
RealAudio clip: "track 8"
RealAudio clip: "track 10"

ULVER Metamorphosis (Jester) cdep 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The most predicably unpredicable band on the Norwegian black metal scene has to be Ulver. They've made an album of metallic, raw Darkthrone worship, another of pure acoustic folk, and (most recently) even a double cd combining William Blake poetry with industrial beats. Now, with this new four-track ep, they've gone fully techno, Ulver-style, meaning dark, heavy electronica beats with only traces of the old Ulver remaining, mainly in the occasional Viking-opera vocals. Appropriate to this "metamorphosis", the cd tray features the following message from the band: "Ulver is obviously not a black metal band...we are proud of our former instincts, but wish to liken our association with said genre to that of the snake with Eve. An incentive to further frolic only. If this discourages you in any way, please have the courtesy to refrain from voicing superficial remarks regarding our music and/or personae. We are as unknown to you as we always were." Yet another surprising release from this unique band.

ULVER Nattens Madrigal (Century Media) cd 13.98
Strange Norwegian Black Metal band's third album, subtitled "Eight Hymnnes to the Wolf in Man". Unlike their previous record, which was an entirely acoustic folk music, this is an almost all-electric onslaught, recorded in such a (demented?) way as to make the guitars sound like giant bees. The electricity of this record is highlighted also by the way each and every track seemingly stars with the sound of their instruments being plugged in. Utter Darkthrone worship, but better!

ULVER Perdition City (Jester) cd 15.98
Well it's pretty clear that these Norwegian weirdos will never be a "black metal" band again. Following the industrial and techno experimentation of their last two releases comes the new disc, "Perdition City" (pretentiously subtitled "music to an interior film"), and with this album Ulver seem fully committed to their new electronica personae, sounding more like Portishead or Tarwater than anything remotely metal. So, there'll never to be another beautiful acoustic folk masterpiece like "Kveldsangger" or a darker-than-Darkthrone black metal assault like "Nattens Madrigal" from these guys...and it's a pity, 'cause even though this new, noir-ish electronic Ulver effort is OK, it's got nothing on the originality and passion of what they once were. Dark, faux-soundtrack stuff, not bad (except for the truly god-awful vocals that thankfully only occur a couple of times, and the saxophone also gives some of us problems) but why? Several other pioneering black metal bands have successfully incorporated electronic/industrial sounds into their music (Mayhem, Satyricon...) without going entirely over to the other side. If Garm (aka Trickster G) and the other guys in Ulver want to do an atmospheric electronica band, which evidently they do, why keep the Ulver name? All that means is that some Ulver fans (like Andee) will hate this, and some (like Allan) will still add it to their collections out of loyalty and curiosity. But if it WASN'T Ulver, I don't think Andee would hate it so much, OR Allan would buy it...argh. At least this isn't Marylin Manson cheese ala Kovenant... Oh, this includes a cd-rom video clip as well, but it didn't work on our Macs. Ulver fans, make your choice... Ulver: up their own ass with trendy electronica artiness, or post-black metal innovators?

RealAudio clip: "Lost In Moments"
RealAudio clip: "The Future Sound Of Music"

ULVER Shadows Of The Sun (Jester) cd 12.98
The band formerly known as a black metal band Ulver, now known as arty WTF? band Ulver, has morphed and morphed again over the years. Black metal, folk, electronica, pop, techno... some of Ulver's metamorphoses have worked better than others. They've gone through phases influenced by both Portishead and Radiohead. But lately these Norwegian tricksters have seemingly settled down to something stable, an avant-garde, electronica-infused, gloomy pop-prog identity. Their previous album Blood Inside was a bit too Tears For Fearsy for our tastes, unfortunately (though we know lots of folks loved it). Or maybe that would have been ok, but the circus-y bits really lost us. However, Shadows Of The Sun, while charting a similar course, veers mostly to the languid and lovely, which we rather like. The nine tracks here tend to flow together calmly, never breaking the twilight mood. Hints of glitchiness and distortion are interwoven with yearning melody, smooth almost New Agey blissfullness, deep breathy baritone vox. Also, a warning (to some): saxophone. A little. And at this point, needless to say, there's nothing remotely metal about any of it. Well, there is a Black Sabbath cover, but they chose one of the Sabs' most delicate and torpid songs, "Solitude", in keeping with this album's sad mood, Garm's vocals wearier even than were Ozzy's originally, uncheered by the jazz inflections included in Ulver's arrangement. Those who have followed and remained fans of Ulver thus far, though, should find this latest melancholic manifestation quite satisfying. Oh, and considering his following among the AQ crowd, we should note that Christian Fennesz makes a cameo appearance on this record.
MPEG Stream: "Eos"
MPEG Stream: "Let The Children Go"

ULVER Silence Teaches You How To Sing EP (Jester Records) cd ep 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Formerly black metal avantgardists Ulver of Norway present 24 minutes of electonic experimental improv, a slowly-unfolding collage of organic drones and beats and clicks and field recordings and post-rock piano melody etc., that might remind you of everything from Tarwater to Philip Jeck to Fennesz to Mogwai... Quite mellow, dark and beautiful, a soundscape composed, in part, of static-y electro-grime overlaying scratchy vinyl looping with occasional wordless drifting vocals.
The long, lone track on this limited edition ep was constructed from material recorded in a one-night "Dead City Centre jam" last February during the sessions for Ulver's most recent full-length, the love it or hate it "Perdition City". Unlike that album, though, this ep benefits from a lack of horrendous vocal and saxophone contributions! While some of Ulver's past attempts to branch out into non-black metal genres have been, as just alluded to, kinda shaky (if commendable in spirit), this stands up well in the "experimental/electronica" category. Recommended, as possibly Ulver's best post-metal effort.
RealAudio clip: "Silence... (excerpt)"

ULVER Silencing The Singing EP (Jester) cd ep 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Here's another limited edition ep from the impossible to classify Norwegian band Ulver, following up their similarly titled (and similar looking) "Silence Teaches You How To Sing EP" from earlier this year. Again, about a half hour of music, this time broken into three tracks. All are constructed of repetitive melodic and non-melodic loops (some notes on a piano, scratchy vinyl surface noise, what might be far-off voices), gradually joined by electronic blips and beats. The mood is quiet and languid, as are the rhythms, although track three builds into a lovely few final moments of loud distortion.
Ulver of course originally made their name in the black metal scene, with such classic the-forest-is-my-throne-style albums as "Nattens Madrigal" and "Kveldsanger", full of church-burning riffs and wolverine vocals (and acoustic folk music in the case of "Kveldsanger"). And we won't deny that that's some of their best stuff, it is. But since those days they've abandoned black metal and morphed into some sort of odd electronic/experimental band -- and as well, Ulver leader Krystoffer "Garm" Rygg started up the Jester label to release music by all sorts of likeminded (i.e. fucked) Norwegian artists (including When, Bogus Blimp, Esperanza, and of course Ulver).
And while their black metal past isn't overtly evident on this recording, we could suppose that Ulver's earlier appreciation of the grim, lo-fi, trance-like ambience created by their (former) heroes Darkthrone and Mayhem is still a part of Ulver's sound, explaining their music's current immersion in a grimy (if not grim) background of constant crackle and buzzing drones. Well, that and the fact that such sounds are now as hip in experimental/electronica circles as they are cult in metal.
Speaking of cult, the cryptic as always liner notes claim "Ulver do their best to show you the wall in every door". Not sure what that means, exactly, but that statement still seems to sum up their history of willful genre-shifting and puzzling abstraction, of which "Silencing The Singing" is only the most recent, and one of the most enjoyable, examples. Get it while you can. And look forward to Ulver's next project, which is promised to be an Apocalyptica-like orchestral remake of their dirtiest sounding, most mean and metal disc, "Nattens Madrigal"!
RealAudio clip: "Track 1"
RealAudio clip: "Track 3"

ULVER Svidd Neger (Jester) cd 14.98
We're still waiting on the upcoming string quartet version of Ulver's black metal masterpiece Nattens Madrigal, but in the meantime they've released something else new, another soundtrack effort (their second, after last year's Lyckantropen Themes). As with that album, Ulver are in their current manifestation as a dark, avant-electronica act, their Nordic metal past a mere shadow cast over the proceedings. With eerie, tinkling piano and far-off, distant screams, Ulver create sonic echoes of crimes that we'll assume appear on celluloid in Svidd Neger. Melancholic horns and downtempo beats make this a creepy yet club-contemporary sounding listen. And after you're lulled into thinking it's all gonna be quiet and mellow, wham some ominous heavy chords come crashing down, Mogwai-style. Mostly though, this is quiet and creepy, and menacingly melodic.
MPEG Stream: "Wild Cat"
MPEG Stream: "Rock Massif Pt. 1"

ULVER Teachings In Silence (Black Apple) cd 11.98
Warehouse find! Not ours of course since we don't have a warehouse, but some of these classic Ulver discs turned up so we grabbed a bunch. It had been a while since we listened to this, but returning to it now, we realized what a killer disc this is, and figured a bunch of folks may have missed out on it, so here's another chance for you, it's long out of print, going on 5 years maybe, so once these are gone, they will again be gone for good...
here's our review from when we first carried it way back when:
This new cd from Norwegian avantgarde ex-black metallers Ulver isn't really new, as it actually is a reissue compilation of their two limited edition, now out of print eps "Silence Teaches You How To Sing" and "Silencing The Singing" on one handy, domestically issued disc (by a new label run by Aaron from noise-pop outfit Iran, who met Ulver while in Norway filming a documentary about the black metal scene! Which should be coming out soon, as in 2007!). So, you don't need it if you already have those two import discs, but if you don't, we most certainly recommend it -- both eps are two of Ulver's best post-black metal efforts to date, as they move into unclassifiable experimental/electronica realms. To sum up our previous commentary on these eps: "Silence Teaches You..." is a single, 24 minute track of electonic experimental improv, a slowly-unfolding collage of organic drones and beats and clicks and field recordings and post-rock piano melody etc., that might remind you of everything from Tarwater to Philip Jeck to Fennesz to Mogwai... Quite mellow, dark and beautiful, a soundscape composed, in part, of static-y electro-grime overlaying scratchy vinyl looping with occasional wordless drifting vocals. It was constructed from material recorded in a one-night "Dead City Centre jam" during the sessions for Ulver's previous full-length album, the love it or hate it "Perdition City". Unlike that album, though, this ep benefits from a lack of horrendous vocal and saxophone contributions! The similar in method/sound "Silencing The Singing" follows, three tracks providing another half hour of music, constructed of repetitive melodic and non-melodic loops (some notes on a piano, scratchy vinyl surface noise, what might be far-off voices), gradually joined by electronic blips and beats. The mood is quiet and languid, as are the rhythms, although the last track builds into a lovely few final moments of loud distortion.
Ulver of course originally made their name in the black metal scene, with such classic the-forest-is-my-throne-style albums as "Nattens Madrigal" and "Kveldsanger", full of church-burning riffs and wolverine vocals (and acoustic folk music in the case of "Kveldsanger"). And we won't deny that that's some of their best stuff -- it is. But since those days they've abandoned black metal and morphed into some sort of odd, willfully abstract electronic/experimental band -- and as well, Ulver leader Krystoffer "Garm" Rygg started up the fab Jester label to release music by all sorts of likeminded (i.e. fucked) Norwegian artists (including AQ faves When, Bogus Blimp, Origami Galaktika, Rotoscope, and of course Ulver).
And while Ulver's black metal past isn't overtly evident on these recordings, we could suppose that their earlier appreciation of the grim, lo-fi, trance-like ambience created by their (former) heroes Darkthrone and Mayhem is still a part of Ulver's sound, explaining their music's current immersion in a grimy (if not grim) background of constant crackle and buzzing drones. Well, that and the fact that such sounds are now as hip in experimental/electronica circles as they are cult in metal.
MPEG Stream: "Silence Teaches You How To Sing"
MPEG Stream: "Darling Didn't We Kill You?"
MPEG Stream: "Speak Dead Speaker"

ULVER Themes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell" (Jester) 2cd 19.98
Probably the most anticipated metal record of the year outside of the Emperor record, but for a drastically different reason; everyone was curious how much it might suck. After all, this is the record that got them dropped from Century Media for not being metal enough. Early reviews made repeated references to 'trip hop' and 'Tricky' and 'Portishead'. Even distributors were wary of carrying what apparently was a non-metal record, hence our difficulty in ordering it.
This is as unlikely a direction as one could imagine for Ulver. They hinted at this new direction on their second, 'folk' album, although their next record Nattens Madrigal found them in ferocious buzzing blur mode. William Blake finds a bit of that folk element fused with elements of metal, ambient, goth, trip-hop, 80's industrial and spoken word. You may remember a similarly unconventional mix on the last Arcturus record, although this record is significantly more epic in length (two cd's) and scale (examining the writings of William Blake through the lens of seemingly unrelated genres). What makes this record assuredly Ulver is the sheer audacity of recording what is essentially a literary dissertation. And they've earned the right to do so; releasing three of the best and most original metal records of the last several years as well as being the only sober, educated voice in The Lords of Chaos.
The store is divided on it. Andee and Marc, though confused by it, like it a lot. Jim says he would have loved it in High School. Allan and Elisabeth are still unsure. (And Windy's too busy looking for a carpenter to even have an opinion.) So this is both a warning and a recommendation.

ULVER / IMMORTAL Bargnatt - Promo '93 / Promo '91 (Dead Not Found) cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Bootleg (note it's on "Dead Not Found" not legit label "Head Not Found") release of early material by two legendary Norwegian black metal acts, the now so avant garde that they're not black metal anymore Ulver and black metal diehards even today Immortal. Of course back in the early '90s, both bands were True with a captial T: raw, church-burning black metal of the purest sort. Demotape tracks from both bands (4 from Ulver, 3 from Immortal), plus an Ulver song from their rare split 7" with Mysticum. Ulver's stuff melds neo-classical melodicism with lo-fi Burzum-style noise-production, which certainly sets the stage for several of their later releases. Immortal's tracks are EXTREMELY lo-fi, with the Popeye death-grunts being the most audible aspect. Oh, the atmosphere! For fans only, of course (who will also no doubt appreciate the shocking anti-Dimmu Borgir tray-card graphics).

UMBRELLAS IN THE SUN A Crepuscule / Factory Benelux DVD 1979-1987 (LTM) dvd 28.00
A two hour plus anthology of rare digitally remastered studio clips and live footage by various groups from the archives of Factory Records, Factory Benelux, Les Disques du Crepuscle between 1979 and 1987. Featuring Antena, A Certain Ratio, Josef K, Caberet Voltaire, Section 25, Durutti Column, New Order, Crispy Ambulance, Tuxedomoon, Paul Haig, Quando Quango and many, many others.

UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (OST) (Sony) 2cd 21.00

UMEZU, KAZUTOKI First Deserter (Knitting Factory Works) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Japanese jazz saxophonist "Doctor" Umezu with some downtown NYC stalwarts (Marc Ribot, Wayne Horvitz, Tom Cora, and Samm Bennett). Great stuff, full of fun. Recommended.

UMEZU, KAZUTOKI Show The Frog (Doubtmusic) cd 16.98
Avant jazz from Japan featuring Kazutoki Umezu on sax.

UMILIANI, PIERO Musicaelettronica, Volume Uno (Easy Tempo) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Sometimes it's hard to keep up with the output of Italian '60s/'70s groovedelica reissue label Easy Tempo. Fortunately this release didn't escape our notice, 'cause it's super great. Italian composer Piero Umiliani has been the subject of numerous reissues and compilations as his "space age bachelor pad" music is finding a newer audience 30 years after it was created. And while the sticker on the cd reminds you that Umiliani's experimental synthesizer (moog, mostly) pop material can favorably be compared to the exotica of Martin Denny, the '60s rock of Jefferson Airplane, and jazz a la Ellington, we're here to tell you that at times the music sounds utterly contemporary, as modern and fresh and full of original ideas as any new "electronica" artist out there. In fact, the electronic material is so clean and avant sounding that we are instantly reminded of Krautrock pioneers Cluster and Neu. You heard me--Cluster. Yeah, it's that good! Not that it's all super serious or anything -- there's a great version of "Caravan" on here worthy of Perrey & Kingsley. Highly recommended!
RealAudio clip: "Motore a loni"

UMILIANI, PIERO Musicaelettronica, Volume Uno (Easy Tempo) 2lp 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Sometimes it's hard to keep up with the output of Italian '60s/'70s groovedelica reissue label Easy Tempo. Fortunately this release didn't escape our notice, 'cause it's super great. Italian composer Piero Umiliani has been the subject of numerous reissues and compilations as his "space age bachelor pad" music is finding a newer audience 30 years after it was created. And while the sticker on the cd reminds you that Umiliani's experimental synthesizer (moog, mostly) pop material can favorably be compared to the exotica of Martin Denny, the '60s rock of Jefferson Airplane, and jazz a la Ellington, we're here to tell you that at times the music sounds utterly contemporary, as modern and fresh and full of original ideas as any new "electronica" artist out there. In fact, the electronic material is so clean and avant sounding that we are instantly reminded of Krautrock pioneers Cluster and Neu. You heard me--Cluster. Yeah, it's that good! Not that it's all super serious or anything -- there's a great version of "Caravan" on here worthy of Perrey & Kingsley. Highly recommended!

UMILIANI, PIERO Piero's Pleasure (Cherry Red) cd 17.98
The music of Piero Umilani was always the breeziest and most fun-loving of the Italian soundtrack composers. What more proof do you need than the opening track of this collection, a song made famous by the Muppets, "Mah Na Mah Na". But if you've never heard the rich intonation of the male lead vocalist in the original, you really owe yourself a listen. Furthermore, the fact that the song originally came from a soundtrack for a film called Sweden, Heaven and Hell, just adds to Umilani's zany mystique. This collection of sixties and seventies soundtracks is a good start for those who missed out on the now out of print Easy Tempo reissues from the late nineties. There's plenty of whimsical guitar leads, snaking through festive and enchanting xylophones, trumpets, and all manner of eccentric auxiliary percussion one would associate with the decadence and elegance of '60s and '70s era film. When not baroquely festive, Umiliani assuredly works his way through darker moods with trembling string sections, haunting vocals, and lilting guitar lines. And of course, naturally, for good measure, there is some fucking brilliant whistling, which always makes EVERYTHING better, whether it be a compilation of forgotten soundtrack music, or a stroll home from work. It may not be THE definitive collection for Umilani enthusiasts but it has plenty of Italian cinematic soundtrack gems, from spy themes and Spaghetti Westerns to pensive romance and of course, sunny femme-vocalised pop. Anyone looking to brush up Umiliani, or Italian soundtracks in general will cover some important territory with this one.
MPEG Stream: "Mah Na Mah Na"
MPEG Stream: "Isola Tuttofare"
MPEG Stream: "Le Isole Dell'amore"
MPEG Stream: "Un Posto Per Un Addio"

UMLAUT Total Disfuckingcography (Crimethinc) cd 12.98
There's a lot of talk about intensity in music -- hot guitar licks, fast drumming, empassioned vocals. But then you hear something like the entire recorded output of the mighty Umlaut and from then on you realize that everything you thought you knew about limits of musical ferocity was bullshit. There is no aural equivalent to this raging onslaught of blasting, anthemic hardcore/grind.
Mostly unknown outside of their Scandinavian hinterlands, Umlaut is a secretive outlaw collective of hard-drinking hard-riding anarchist Finnish biker punks who pause only long enough on their ceaselessly marauding cross-tundra doom rides to destroy squats with a typically brief 10-minute set of their incendiary brand of hardcore-crust-grind. Suspiciously evasive in interviews as to the nature of their identity, they espouse their violently radical political beliefs with a vehemence matched only by their loathing of customs agents (on the song "Denied at Customs" sung to the tune of S.O.D.'s "United Forces") and a certain American metalcore band coming to their native land and expecting everyone to speak English.
Most tracks here sound like first-take recordings, and I mean that in a good way -- there's a raw unbridled natural live feel to the songs that make them sound like they're about to disintegrate into chaos at any moment. It is a work of no small heroism on the part of the drummer to keep these songs contained into concrete, if not surprisingly tight, structures. The vocals are positively seething, the guitars the perfect blend of heaviness and rawness, the drums near-death-metal fast and the songs are surprisingly catchy even in their rarely-over-30-seconds length. You could play this on the lowest volume setting and the Finnish motorcycling death squad that is Umlaut will still sound like they're positively charging out of your speakers, ready to run you down and grind your guts into the spokes of their burning wheels.
The real question though is how could a band this amazing actually exist? Seems to good to be true!! I mean, c'mon, Finnish, bikers, metal, hardcore, it's almost like someone deliberately designed the coolest band ever. Weird.
MPEG Stream: "Brothers In Arms"
MPEG Stream: "Intifada (Called Terrorists By Terrorists)"
MPEG Stream: "Denied At Customs"
MPEG Stream: "Bomb Threat"

UN Un (Siltbreeze) lp 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
It's a big mystery.

UNAGI It Came From Beneath The SFC (442) cd 10.98
It's just a matter of time before one of SF's best kept hip-hop secrets becomes a household name. Unagi has proven to be one of the most consistent and challenging producers of forward-minded hip-hop, replete with nods to the old skool. His latest offering split pretty evenly between warm instrumentals and guest MC tracks that all fit together perfectly as a totally coherent album with NO filler. If you found yourself a little underwhelmed with the latest offerings from Blackalicious and DJ Shadow this might be exactly the record you've been waiting for.
MPEG Stream: "Shoulda Known Better"
MPEG Stream: "Expanded and Up To Date"

UNAGI Keepin' It Eel (self-released) cd 10.98
Here's the second album from SF's Unagi. For this follow-up to his well-received 2003 self-titled first album, he's set aside his vocals and overall DJ Shadow-ish stylings in favor of smoooth soul jams and diva samples. This makes for a rather unexpected shift in focus. Folks who dug Unagi's debut and who were eagerly expecting more might be in for a bit of a jolt. Whereas his previous full length was a totally funky hiphop album, Keepin' It Eel is pretty much a luv-yer-lady-down type of soundtrack! You almost expect Barry White to slip in for a nightcap.
MPEG Stream: "Condorman's Revenge"
MPEG Stream: "Relocation Blues"

UNAGI s/t (Kimosciotic) cd 9.98
A fantastic record in the sampladelic genre: fans of DJ Shadow, Barry Adamson, David Holmes should take note! It's rare that we'd quote a press release in an AQ review, but in this case the reasons why I (Windy) like this record so much are exactly what's stated herein:
"Unagi extends an invitation into his unique sonic wonderworld, constructed from forgotten vinyl and dollar bin digging. He serves up mid-fi sample based music, sidestepping the antiseptic production values dominating present day hip-hop. Influenced by luminaries such as Lonnie Liston Smith and Eumir Deodato, Unagi offers tracks carefully crafted with an ear refined through a lifetime of musical consumption. This self-titled debut album is a stylistic drive-by of love. Unagi's magazine is loaded with an array of themes ranging from space jazz, Caribbean cruise ship lounge, roller rink couples' skate and Sunday afternoon afterglow soul fusion."
MPEG Stream: "Crazy Chase"
MPEG Stream: "Blown Away"
MPEG Stream: "Tickle Time"