Ulver Album: “Svidd Neger: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Explicit)”

_Svidd Neger_, Ulver's second project for film music, is brilliant much like the first, _Lyckantropen_. They are quite different though. The instrumentation here is less cold and overtly electronic, and the disc is also very diverse, with individual pieces being quite short. In spite of this, the album flows amazingly well, like in the smooth transitions from the jazzy "Surface" to the watery electronics and strings of "Somnam" then to the mournful, echoing pianos of "Wild Cat". All in all, it's less minimalist than the _Silencing the Singing_ or _Silence Teaches You How to Sing_ Eps or even really _Lyckantropen_. It probably leans a little closer to _A Quick Fix of Melancholy_, but one shouldn't read too much into that.

Unfortunately, the best thing about this album is something I can barely describe: its suggestive flow and its ability to evoke powerful images and emotions. As with _Lyckantropen_, I have not seen the short film for which this music exists, but the music tells its own story independent of the film. With intuitively orchestrated themes and punctuation, everything seems perfectly in place. The overall mood of the album is melancholy and an ominous futility, like trying to count raindrops before they hit the ground.

Personally, I would say Ulver's electronic music has undergone nothing but improvement since _Themes from William Blake's `The Marriage of Heaven and Hell'_. _Svidd Never_ shows the band continuing to expand their musical vision with impressive results. Now we just need the new full-length.

It is no wonder that Ulver was nominated for a Norwegian Grammy for this soundtrack. The first time I heard it, my jaw was hanging. The album is sweeping, breathtaking, melancholic, rocking, jazzy it's everything! The first three tracks flow together quite nicely. Very orchestral and lush. Track 4 has an interesting jazz breakdown in it which is very cool. Somnam, the fifth track, has traces of ambient/soundscape Ulver. Track six is melancholic and peaceful (until a woman comes in screaming...giving birth I imagine). Tracks seven and eight are really awesome. Track seven, Rock Massif Pt.1, reminds me of Hollenthon sort of because it is hard rockin and symphonic. The Waltz of King Karl painted a picture of a fat king stuffing his face with food...old and lost all his majesty...the album as a whole is very visual; it takes you to another world. I cannot say enough about this soundtrack except that it is a masterpiece and definitely one of my favorites in the Ulver catalogue. If this and A Quick Fix of Melancholy are any indication of what Ulver has to offer this fall with "Blood Inside", I cannot wait. Buy this album now.

This album is another soundtrack done by Ulver. Unlike Lyckantropen, it has a lot more variation and dark soundscapes, containing lonely piano melodies and ethereal strings. I'd compare it more to Silencing the Singing or even Perdition City more than Lyckantropen, but it still very much has its own new sound, because Ulver isn't going to make two albums too similar. Every track flows right into the next, giving the album a total ecliptic, solid feel, as if it was just one song. It is only about 35 minutes long, and with 16 tracks, most of them are very short. It is one of the most dark and somber Ulver works of art, in relation to most of their electronic discography.

It starts out with a soft violin melody that slowly builds up into something with more structure, with a few female hums; it definitely sounds like the "Preface" of a movie, introducing the general setting with the camera floating above green hills (I never saw the movie and probably will never get to- this is just what my brain thinks up) which transforms into "Ante Andante:" 52 seconds of very soft, delicate piano playing. That further evolves into "Comedown," which expands upon the previous track's melody, adding softly plucked strings from a variety of octaves. "Surface" adds some horns, and then some electronic beats and distortions, and also a saxophone and a jazzy, dark, smoky beat, reminiscent of Perdition City. It continues on to "Somnam" with some dark, menacing strings and sounds, slightly reminiscent of Silencing the Singing. "Wild Cat" continues on with the same memorable piano melody as before, adding a different direction of melodies and sounds, adding more of a beat and more instruments along the way. "Rock Massif Pt 1" picks up the pace of the main theme, and continues on a pretty fast pace for the next three tracks. Track 11 has montage of crazy beeps and sounds for about 45 seconds. "Sick Soliloquy" starts off with some speaking samples, and goes on into very movie-esque string melodies that sound like someone is sneaking around in a place they're not supposed to be, up to nothing but mischief. "Sadface" continues on with some very unique electronic percussion. Track 15 is only 20 seconds long, not including the strange "negative" time it displays (in a few other tracks also) and sounds like a short but sharp climatic point of the movie. The last track contains more jumpy strings and horns, with some interesting beats and a mixture of mostly everything on the rest of the album.

Like many other Ulver masterpieces, this album is best listened to on high-quality headphones with minimal distractions and other noises, to get the full effect. It is definitely one more masterpiece added to the catalog of one of the most interesting and continually evolving bands today.

I gave this CD a 4 out of 5, because (1) it's not a complete album and (2) half of the songs aren't as developed as they could be. It's important to keep in mind that this is a soundtrack to a movie (Burned Negro lol), and I'm sure these songs are perfect for the movie, but, as a CD, it doesn't have much return value.

Either way, Svidd Neger is worth listening to, and it is enjoyable. Ulver's sound in this one is that artsy kind of electronic music with an orchestral flavor and the same dark emotional core that Ulver is really good for, but maybe more emphasis on the artsy part. Like a soundtrack, there are many reoccurring themes (so reoccurring that some of the songs are basically the same with structural differences and variations), so it's kind of fun to try and imagine what's going on in the movie at the time without actually having seen the movie.