Ulver - A Quick Fix of Melancholy

Ulver is the primary band of Arcturus' Kristoffer Rygg (a.k.a. Trickster G., Garm). On the band's first full-length, 1994's Bergtatt, Ulver played raw, traditional black metal. To date, it is still their most conventional release. The follow-up, Kveldssanger, was a bit of a surprise—an all-acoustic black metal album with traditional Norse folk melodies and chanting. 1997's Nattens Madrigal saw Ulver return somewhat to their traditional black metal roots, with lyrical themes based entirely on wolves (Ulver is the Norwegian word for wolves). With the release of 1999's Themes From William Blake's The Marriage Of Heaven And Hell, however, the band broke all ties to the subgenre (and metal in general). The transformation was completed on 2000's Perdition. By that point, Ulver was experimenting openly with trip-hop, electronica, and ambience. The 2003 EP A Quick Fix of Melancholy is the band's latest foray into the unconventional.

The opening track of the EP, “Little Blue Bird,” features operatic synth programming and very moody, ambient vocals by Trickster G. Later on, Tore Ylwizaker incorporates some electronic sounds (buzzes and blips), but there is very little variety here—the same basic rhythm and melody is pretty much repeated throughout the entire track. “Doom Sticks” is an instrumental that again combines synth and assorted electronica (including some percussive sounds). “Vowels” is interesting in that its lyrics are made up entirely of the letters in the song’s title. This gives us lines like, “We sell loose vows/So we love less well/So low/So level/Wolves evolve.” Trickster G.’s voice is quite impressive here; very deep and emotive. The synth passages are sweeping and opulent—this song more than any other on the disc builds in emotion as it goes on. There is an interesting moment at the 5:25 mark when the song begins to fade out, only to roar back a second later with even more powerful synth lines. The last track on the EP is a bonus remix of song "Nattleite" from the 1995 Kveldssanger album (rechristened “Eittlane”). This piece is also an instrumental and would work very well as a film soundtrack (Ulver received a Norwegian Grammy nomination last year with their score for the movie “Lyckantropen Themes”).

In a press release, Ulver related the disc’s sound to, “something like a hospital for the dying. Chamber music for the fucked and locked-up.” To me, though, it really doesn’t sound that schizophrenic—if anything, it has a calming effect. There’s simply not enough going on in these four tracks to keep me interested beyond a listen or two. I'm reminded of Tomas Bodin’s solo efforts, which, while professional, do nothing to elevate my spirit. Given that you’re only getting 23 minutes worth of music on A Quick Fix, only the most devoted Trickster G. and/or Ulver fans need apply.