Ulver : 'Liminal Animals"

Rygg is back on the tip of the smooth groove, making music that comes close to the 80s homage synth-wave bands are making these days. But with a dusky winter haze cast as he coasts down the beachside highway of life, these songs are cruising. Lyrically things are getting darker and more dystopian. He has been watching the news. "Locusts" drifts like a Tears For Fears b-side. Enough hook to keep you invested.  After an instrumental interlude, he fires back with "Hollywood Babylon' which has more of a disco feel. Lyrically it mockingly announces "Not Fuck With America".  It packs the most groove into a song thus far. 

"Forgive Us" falls back into a more Tears For Fears-influenced soulful pop ballad. This is followed by another one of the atmospheric pieces. These sound nice enough, but I am not going to count them for the purpose of this review.  "A City in the Skies" bounces with an 80s-like cadence, not as pronounced as perhaps some of the previous songs. Lyrically it upholds the bleak stage that was already set by the other songs. The elephant in the room might be the total lack of any heavier elements, and how this project might as well change its name, I get that but he has already covered such a wide range that if you are hanging on as a fan, then you have accepted this fact. 

There are two takes on "Ghost Entry" the first being the kind of chilled synth wave with the neon colored 80s groove. The second take finds robotic effects on the vocals and it is less of a song more of an outro, but there is enough going on to count it as a song for the purpose of this review. I will give this one a 9.5, as the parts that did not grab me on the first couple of listens will grow on me and they are great at what they do.

pst558