Released on: 28th August 2020
Ulver have been a polymorphic titan in the alternative scene ever since their astounding adaptation of William Blake’s The Marriage Of Heaven And Hell. They have continued to wow and woo fans with their unique pop music evolving and developing a sound that would take more than my word count to describe in detail. And when comparing new album Flowers of Evil to their previous album Drone Activity the Wolves have once again traversed into new territory adopting, and adapting, new sounds, styles and a new approach to marketing.
Smart, sexy and stupendously decadent the Flowers of Evil is an extension of Ulvers’ adroit takes on literary inspiration. With this album taking its name from the works of Charles Baudelaire namely Les Fleurs Du Mal. However unlike Baudelaire Ulvers’ Flowers of Evil cannot be considered an insult to public decency. Instead it offers some of the smoothest and sweetest sounds around.
From the tones and timbres of organs, pianos and space-age pads to the more hardcore shrieks and general noise of the more popular guitar the wolves are pulling strong on their previous experience crafting soundtracks. Flowers of Evil is like a modern orchestration with an unorthodox background and with Kristoffer ‘Garm’ Ryggs’ dulcet tones, again crispy and refined like cold honey, it is a wonderful juxtaposition to the context and times that this album explores.
Ever since Ulvers’ Perdition City (2000) the band has run with the idea that music is more than just a carrier for visual art, as suggested on the aforementioned albums’ subtitle– Music To An Interior Film. With Flowers of Evil they have continued with that trend, running with the groups own ideas while bucking every other populist bandwagon.
8/10
