2016.
Progressive Electronic, Ambient, Post Rock.
It's quite exciting being a long time Ulver fan. They change genre with each album they release, so it is fun trying to predict what they might do next. Personally I'm keeping my fingers crossed for an Ulver Reggae album! ATGCLVLSSCAP (which stands for each of the astrological signs of the zodiac) is somewhere between a new full length album and a live album. All of the material has been recorded from their 2014 tour, but it seems most of the material here I haven't heard before. Considering how eclectic Ulver are from album to album, you can guarantee that a live album would be extremely diverse within itself.
This is exactly the case. Though unlike most Ulver albums, this one is almost entirely instrumental. The overall arc of this album goes from slow, droning Post Rock, to Electronic with pulsing, tribal beats verging on IDM, then the second half of the album enters Ambient territory with nods to the Space synthesiser sounds of Tangerine Dream, before concluding with two excellent vocal tracks. "Nowhere" is an updated version of an old track "Nowhere/Catastrophe" from their incredible "Perdition City" album, with chiming, atmospheric Post Rock guitars added on. Ulver mastermind Kristoffer Rygg turns in a fantastic vocal performance here and it is a huge standout and sounds epic and mesmerizing. In fact this is one you could even sing along to! The album concludes with another great vocal track, which has a Gothic Depeche Mode kind of vibe.
With an album this diverse, it would be easy for it to be disjointed, but it flows extremely well and most of the time you forget it is a live recording. The album is quite slow and often minimalist, so it deserves to be heard in its entirety and will require your patience. If you are already well familiar with Ulver, then you will know this is usually the case anyway. Ulver aren't a band that grab you immediately, they are a band you have to take your time with and actually think about, as they slowly blossom petals of gold into your eardrums. Personally this has been my favourite Ulver release since "Shadows of the Sun". 8/10.
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