Ulver – Messe I.X-VI.X

August 18, 2013 • Jester Records

Since the disappointing Wars of the Roses and the bafflingly out-of-character Childhood's End, I approached this album with a hell of a lot of caution. However, I am happy to report that my fears were for nothing; Messe I.X-VI.X has turned out to be one of the best things they've released in a long time and I'm really enjoying it.

As expected, Ulver is tiptoeing outside their sonic boundaries yet again; Messe is mostly classicaly-inspired (if the collaboration with the Tromsø Chamber Orchestra didn't tip you off), but that's only a tiny part of the picture. The album is a harrowing soundscape of droning ambience, brooding strings and folk instruments, and erratic sampling. I particularly love the combination of the sweeping strings with some more traditional (for Ulver) crazy electronic stuff on "Shri Schneider", easily one of the best segments on the album. Also of note is the sound collage of "Noche oscura del alma", which I have to say would probably make my list of top scariest tracks. It's incredibly unsettling, yet works pretty well in context of the whole album.

The focus is all on textures, moods, and melancholic atmosphere (there aren't even vocals until "Son of Man" halfway through); it even sometimes has a soundtrack feel to it (especially the grandiose "Glamour Box (Ostinati)"). It's very abstract and the pieces all kind of flow together, so instead of the definite feeling of a collection of songs that Shadows of the Sun was, Messe feels more like a classical suite. I imagine that was the effect they were going for, and I have to say it totally works.

That said, it's not without a few problems. It's a very slow-burning album and difficult to digest, even after multiple listens. I imagine it would be hard to like for a lot of people, especially ones who aren't much into modern classical music, as it spends a lot of time building up on itself (although the payoff is usually good, barring the anticlimactic finale "Mother of Mercy"). And none of the tracks really come off as memorable as many did on their last few albums, even the more "traditional" ones ("Son of Man"). It's definitely something you have to be in a certain mood for, and listen straight through.

But once you are in that mood and give Messe a really careful listen, it turns out to be one of their best efforts yet. This is the natural continuation from Shadows of the Sun I was hoping for, the direction I was hoping Ulver would head in. Better late than never, I suppose. A very worthy addition to the Ulver canon.

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