Following between their three studio albums; 2017’s The Assassination of Julius Caesar, 2020’s Flowers of Evil and 2024’s Liminal Animals which showed Ulver’s move into traditional song and production levels, their next album marks a new beginning in the band’s history who have moved from the sounds of black metal, ambient, synth-pop and experimental music, haven taken a dive into the underwater worlds of continuing their electronic sound on their new album, Neverland.
Here, Ulver have taken the biggest step into the world of changing directions by setting foot into the Berlin school of music, video game and film scores combined as if they had created this pattern, revealing a world on the brink of collapse, now in its ghost town, pin-dropping atmosphere with lushful, turned darker arrangements. With the influences of Vangelis, Tangerine Dream, early Floyd, and the post-punk sound of the late ‘70s/early ‘80s, it seems like as Radiohead would sing, everything is in its right place.
Between the exhilarating voyages on ‘People of the Hills’ and the sombering piano sonata throughout ‘Elephant Trunk’ it gives you a gentle reminder of what once was, is now revealing to be a sense of loss, and a sense of tragic consequences that come into play. It becomes a powder-keg waiting to erupt as the electronic instruments burst into its volcanic eruption, waiting to reveal its master plan, not knowing the price will be paid for the townsfolk to have a massive wake-up call.
‘Hark Hark The Dogs Bark’ draws influences of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop and its tip of the hat to fellow mastermind, Delia Derbyshire with its shivering guitar textures, vocalisations, and unexpected twist Ulver would emerge to send in its jump-scare momentum. The droning turned nightmarish vibration behind the ‘Horses of the Plough’ opens up with a rising turned futuristic gravity of Vangelis sessions during the Blade Runner movie.
But its ‘Pandora’s Box’ which recalls the Zeit-era from Tangerine Dream with its eerie, yet avant-garde approach to go into this hay-wiring effect, setting up the hallucinated vibrations coming across the dark, grey landscape that’s about to unfold whilst they plug in their synths and ride off into the night, galloping into this menacing pounce on ‘They’re Coming The Birds’.
Neverland has a powerful, yet mind-blowing amazement which showcases Ulver at their best to prove how far they’ve come since their formation in 1993. And despite the line-up changes the band went through, you can’t deny the power and the structure in what their new album has unfolded to us in front of our very eyes.
