Frankie Goes To Hollywood. If you’d asked me to list out the bands I felt Ulver most likely to cover, Frankie Goes to Hollywood would not have been on the list. Hell, the band fall so far outside what I would relate to Ulver, I probably wouldn’t even have considered them in the context of bands Ulver were least likely to cover. And yet…
Ulver are an artistic collective who have been content to evolve considerably since those early, black-metal influenced years. Each subsequent release reveals some new facet, hitherto unexplored, and the result is a body of work that genre hops considerably. Whilst ‘Perdition City’ probably reigns supreme as my personal favourite, last year’s ‘the assassination of Julius Caesar was a masterpiece on many levels and, with the benefit of hindsight, it’s easy to see how the synth heavy soundscapes of that album draw a direct line of inspiration to the likes of Frankie Goes To Hollywood. It’s right there for all to see – the dark, pulsing synths, the vocals laden with emotion and, of course, a series of melodies so addictive if you can get them out of your head in a week, you’re doing better than me – it’s all a matter of changing one’s perception of what bands can and should do… perceptions that Ulver have always been delighted to confound.
Although released digitally last year, a physic al edition of ‘Sic Transit Gloria Mundi’ has now appeared. The EP continues the journey begun with ‘the assassination…’ offering up two new tracks and a cover of ‘the power of love’. It’s a generous gesture from a band who are frequently characterised as wilfully oblique with the only real question being whether this is a signal that further activity is planned or a full stop marking the end of this particular phase of the band’s musical trajectory. Either way, for long-time fans of the band, it’s a chance to revisit the sonic spleandour of ‘the assassination…’ one more time.
The only mis-step, for me, is the packaging. I know that not everyone shares my geeky fascination with artwork and layout, but in truth the physical edition of the EP offers little to tempt those who bought the EP digitally beyond CD quality sound and the benefit of owning a physical product. Packaged in a slim-plastic case (the kind typically found on CD singles) with a simple insert bearing lyrics and credits, it’s a missed opportunity for the band to do something a little more special with their work and, given that it weighs in at nearly £8.00 (at time of writing), it’s hard not to feel a little cheated. Ho hum, such is the price of being a completist, I guess.
Musically, however, the EP is anything but a cheat. The two original tracks (both aired during the band’s magical live performances last year) are far from simple offcuts. The hazy ‘Echo Chamber (room of tears)’ runs along similar lines to ‘so falls the world’ with its rich synth lines, somnolent beat and rippling, post-rock guitars. If anything, the influence of eighties synth pop is even more to the fore on this particular track, albeit with additional menace courtesy of spoken word passages recounting various disasters and a subtle industrial edge that sees the keyboards adopt a more threatening pose. Opening with a John Carpenter-esque arpeggiated line, ‘Bring out your dead’, with its heavily reverberating vocals and pulsing beat, is the more direct of the two tracks. The vocal harmonies are as deftly layered as ever and the jabbering electronica recalls the darker end of Depeche Mode’s ouvre (think ‘Home’), making for a brilliant addition to any Ulver fan’s collection.
As for the cover of ‘the power of love’, it’s atypically typical – steering close to the original, although Kristoffer’s treatment of the vocals sees subtle rhythmic shifts that suit his delivery better. Adding further layers of synth, Ulver actually make the track sound more hymnal, and the result is a mesmerising, if reverential, version of a well-known original.
Overall, if you enjoyed the musical direction of ‘The assassination of Julius Caesar’, then this EP is essential, but unless you are an avid collector, it is probably more advisable to pick up the digital version. EP 9; Physical edition 5.
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