Ulver is a band of constant evolution. They started out as black metal, transitioned into electronic, then into synth pop. Their new album Neverland released digitally on December 31st and will release physically in February. This record sees them exploring new horizons yet again, though somehow familiar ones, too.
The band hails from Norway and is currently comprised of Kristoffer Rygg, Ole Aleksander Halstensgard, and Jorn H. Svaeren. The band has seen some changes of late, especially the passing of keyboardist Tore Ylwizaker. I thought his lack of involvement with 2024’s Liminal Animals was a sore spot for that record, but the band has shifted and recreated themselves to surprising effect.
Neverland is fully electronic. There are practically no vocals, just sweeping textures, squirrely melodies, slicing synth, and perfectly placed accents and hooks. It seems like every song has some kind of catchy rhythm, powerful groove, or textural element that makes it feel vibrant and alive. The album feels like another world, another place, another time.
I’m honestly not sure what to call this, except electronic. It is ambient in some places, beat-heavy in others, trance-like or cinematic in others. It doesn’t feel cold and cosmic. No, it feels strangely juicy, jungle-like, and populated, if that makes sense. It has some pop sensibility and the Ulver tone is there, too, but this is something both incredibly familiar and also totally alien.
The songs here are all very different, but also quite alike. It’s difficult to go through and talk about each track except to say they are beautiful and catchy in their own ways. There are eleven tracks and 41 minutes of music here, and it begins and ends with serenity. In the first half, we get the oceanic/naturalistic sounds of “Fear in a Handful of Dust”, the radiant synth of “Elephant Trunk”, the abstract vision of “Weeping Stone”, the groovy “People of the Hills”, then the one-two punch of oddly named tracks, “They’re Coming! The Birds!” with its bassy groove and cinematic elements, and “Hark! Hark! The Dogs Do Bark” with its heavy beat. I love them all in various ways.
The second half has some very cool tracks, too. I love “Horse of the Plough”, almost melancholy in its plodding ambient tone. “Pandora’s Box” is mostly ambient at first, but soon a simple and effective synth melody emerges that cements it into my brain. “Quivers in the Marrow” completes the three-part ambient section with pure texture.
The final two tracks are some of my favorites overall. “Welcome to the Jungle” sees various rhythms and textures collide with grace and atmosphere. The closer “Fire in the End” is so amazing; I love the electronic “voice” it has, both catchy and relatable somehow. The layers that build and the ghostly melody that persists create something that is both haunting and comforting.
Ulver are back and maybe more inventive than ever. I’m a sucker for electronic music like this, music that is rich and alive and punctuated with color. There might not be any lyrics this time, but the music speaks for itself.
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The PROG Mind 