Ulver
Drone Activty

Ulver is a schizophrenic band. Honestly, I can't think of another definition for a band that manages to change musical genre so radically from album to album. However, this judgment shouldn't necessarily be viewed negatively. Ulver was born in the realm of the most extreme black metal before embracing diverse genres such as minimal electronics in Shadows Of The Sun (2007 - perhaps one of their masterpieces where they collaborated with Fennesz), garage-punk in Childhood’s End (2012 - but the Chesterfield Kings had made a cover album in 1982 with Here Are The Chesterfield Kings!) and then touched on synth pop in The Assassination Of Julius Caesar (2017), a controversial work loved by some and hated by others. Also noteworthy is War Of The Roses (2011) where they touched on progressive sounds, something that, unfortunately, some didn't appreciate. Now, Drone Activity is released, an album that, right from the title, makes it clear the artistic direction of this work. Just to be clear, we are in the realm of the more experimental Coil, those of a minimal masterpiece like Time Machines. Drone Activity is divided into 4 tracks recorded live in Oslo during the Red Bull festival: the atmospheres are still and rarefied, immersing us in a hypnotic and hypnagogic dimension. It's dreamlike music to listen to on headphones before falling asleep to influence our dreams. The opening track “True North” is characterized by ambient noises and dark drones that paint misty landscapes. The next and long – almost 22 minutes – “Twenty Thousand Under The Sea” is calm and meditative, in the wake of the mentioned electronic Coil, and continues this dreamlike journey, laying the veil of sleep over the listener. “Blood, Fire, Woods, Diamonds” is instead more rhythmic and less atmospheric. The final track “Exodus” somehow reconnects to the esoteric, ethereal, and evanescent "mood" of the album, transporting us into a nebula at the edge of reality. With Drone Activity, Ulver confirms they are a great band that may have finally found their congenial dimension in electronic music. Available on Bandcamp: https://ulver.bandcamp.com/album/drone-activity.