PERDITION CITY - MUSIC TO AN INTERIOR FILM

Ulver gave the best description of this album right in the title, Music To An Interior Film. Perdition City offers as much for your eyes as it does for your ears. Running parallel with the music Ulver provides a visual world of a sort of post-apocalyptic New York City.

What they do to achieve this shocked me, being only vaguely familiar with Ulver as a black metal band. After a few moments of listening one will quickly realize Ulver fall into the Experimental part of their genre grouping and certainly not the Post-Rock. The album draws most of its sound from an Electronic influence. At times you have a near minimalism sound and at others it explores Trip- hop and an Industrial noise type sound. Don't come expecting to hear some killer guitar solos, or guitar at all really, it's there on a rare occasion but its barely recognizable at that. Drums and piano with programming make up the bulk of the album. Perdition City features some of the most haunting sax work I've heard. It's subtle to the utmost extent and so highly emotive, I was hooked on the whole album the second it came in.

A special mention must be given to Garm's vocals. Incredible is as fit a word as any to describe them. He reminds me of Peter Hammill. He doesn't share Hammill's same dramatic outbursts or weirdness, and the similarity isn't seen in his voice, for he certainly doesn't sound like him. I'm referring rather to Hammill's great use of soft/loud dynamics with his voice and his facility for phrasing, timing, and use of spoken word. Garm's versatility is really a treat though not heard too often as a majority of the album is instrumental. I'd say I wish there was more of it, but I'd be too afraid to change any aspect of this album.

Peridtion City is Perdition City. It needs to be felt, heard, and seen to really understand.