Ulver - Flowers of Evil (Album Review)

As someone who's been a fan of Ulver for a long time, this album was quite a letdown.

Synthpop || Released August 28, 2020

For a band who started out as black metal and later changed on-a-dime to an experimental electronic band with very few inhibitions, "Flowers of Evil" is completely tame, with no bite to it whatsoever. From the raw and engaging "Bergtatt", to the experimentation of "Blood Inside", the deathly beauty of "Shadows of the Sun", we've...progressed...to this.

Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised...after all, the band's previous effort, "The Assassination of Julius Caesar" wasn't exactly what you would have called "innovative", but at the very least it marked a distinct shift in Ulver's everchanging musical style. This album feels like no more than castoffs and b-sides from aforementioned album. It's surprising to find how disposable most of this sounds.

While tracks like "Russian Doll" and "One Last Dance" are completely serviceable synthpop, for every oh-so-slighly above average (mind you, not stellar) track, there is one flaccid and toothless ready to take its place. "Hour of the Wolf" and "Little Boy" are the worst offenders; cheap, even by the shoddy standards set by Ulver's previous record. I always say, of films, the worst thing you can be is boring. It's not exactly the same for music, but man I wish these guys had gone for something gutsier, regardless of how successful, because at least we'd know they were moving somewhere.

Overall, this is a fairly milk-toast and boring affair that I really can't recommend as anything but background music. Fans of Ulver will be disappointed, and newcomers likely won't be dipping in for seconds.

Favorite track: "Russian Doll"

Rating: 4.5/10

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