When Kylesa are releasing a new album it's time to sit up and pay attention. Few other bands have truly evolved from album to album as the Savannah group. Spiral Shadow I felt was always going to be a difficult album to follow. Seemingly not a concern for Kylesa judging by the freedom and progression shown on Ultraviolet.
From reading press interviews and speaking to Phillip Cope myself, I was expecting this album to take time to soak in. With talk being of a more textured sound and not as many obvious "rockers". This is true, to an extent but such is the quality I was hooked from the beginning. I once briefly discussed long gone band, The God Machine with Laura Pleasants. Fittingly she described them as "music you can feel". Kylesa have this effect and there's plenty to "feel" on Ultraviolet. Instead of duplicating Spiral Shadow's expansive and soaring sound, it's a more introspective and subtle approach. Despite this, it is also probably their most melodic, infectious and psychedelic work. It's testament to their writing ability that Ultraviolet is dark in tone and theme while also musically uplifting. It may take some by surprise, requiring time to take in but there's no denying its Kylesa.
The album was written during dark periods for both Laura Pleasants and Phillip Cope. It deals with loss in various ways, but at times the dark lyrics are delivered with sugary coating. 'Quicksand' for instance with its lyrics of "I'm choking on my own blood", over one of their most melodic riffs ever. Laura's voice is dripping in harmony, hiding the underlying themes of desolation and despair.
In fact Ultraviolet sees Laura develop even further as a vocalist. At times totally blissful melodic clean vocals dominate, proving her range has grown impressively. Phillip Cope, also expands himself further, although this seems a constant growth. Rather than dropping loads of obvious riffs, there is greater use of synths, thermin and experimental sounds.
It all makes for a different sounding Kylesa album, but a still utterly brilliant one. It's hard to pick tracks to highlight as all contain moments of genius, wonder or awe. However, it's the more experimental tracks that contain some of the best moments. 'Steady Breakdown' is a Frankenstein's monster of varying heaviness and tempo. The main returning riff also brings to mind the late Randy Rhodes. It's a beautiful, powerful and infectious track that I could listen to for days. 'Long Gone' has a twisted melody, and descends into "drum jamming" along with some understated guitar brilliance.
Ultraviolet is an album that flows from start to finish and works best as a whole work. Having said that all songs here could stand strong individually also. Such was its impact I listened to nothing else for a whole weekend. Only relenting to listen to more back catalogue Kylesa. 'Unspoken' brings a John Carpenter feel to the intro, leading to swirls of rhythm and a galloping finale. 'Low Tide' has an almost The Cure feel to it, drenched in 80's gothic tones; its chorus, infectious and compelling.
The best is saved for last, 'Drifting' is possibly the greatest thing they have recorded. Waves of ambience give way to a mesmerising track of psychedelic brilliance. It's like being submerged in a sensory deprivation tank and pumped full of every hallucinogenic known to man. Simply beautiful and stunning.
Ultraviolet is a glorious journey through light and dark, a psychedelic explosion of colour and sound. Enter with an open mind and prepare to be led in new directions.
Read Phil's interview with Philip Cope here.
