THE ASSASSINATION OF JULIUS CAESAR

'The Assassination of Julius Caesar' from 2017 is the eleventh studio album by one of Norway's most exciting musical shapeshifters, Ulver, one of the many bands hailing from the northern country that fits quite impressively the progressive tag, as they have tried everything from grotesque black metal with doomy musical collages, to experimental and ambient art rock, to pure-hearted synthpop, full of gay but occasionally grim layers of electronic sounds. This specific album in question marks the band's shift to the aforementioned synthpop allure of band leader Kristoffer Rygg, but in reality, the record combines textures of dance music, electronica, darkwave, and eventually electropop.

The dark tone is perhaps quite well depicted by the slightly obscene cover art, depicting a fragment of the ingenious marble sculpture of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 'Ratto di Proserpina' (or 'The Rape of Proserpina'), and the religious and mythological topics will be further touched upon in the songs themselves. As for the sounding of this very interesting record, it has to be said that 'The Assassination of Julius Caesar' is an absolutely brilliant and comprehensive release, one of the most well-written and even better performed art rock/synthpop song collections I have ever heard - from the very beginning the soft and nurturing nuances of the electronic soundscapes shelter the listener and allow him to peacefully embark on a sonic journey through the vast worlds of the various programming and electronic sonic paintings, aided by some great drumming and percussions, some occasional guitars, and a surprising but sincerely welcome saxophone part in one of the songs.

The album is kicked off by the energetic 'Nemoralia', a fantastic album opener and a very well-constructed song, impressing mostly with the catchiness intertwined with the depth of the lyrical content and the beauty of all the sounds working together. Same compliment goes to track two, the nearly 10-minute long 'Rolling Stone', the song that could be thought to be the big winner on this 2017 Ulver release, with the female vocals adding an especially gracious touch to the already-excellent electronic composition. 'So Falls the World' is more soothing, allowing the listener to unwind a bit after the exaltations of the previous track, while 'Southern Gothic' sweeps him away once again, with its heavier approach. It is evident that so far the focus of this record are (while this may not be as explicit at first) the stories that are being told. Track five is 'Angelus Novus', a more ambient piece, reminiscing quite distantly 'So Falls the World'. 'Transverberation' is to me the Depeche Mode moment of Rygg, and more specifically, his Martin Gore impersonation, even vocally, while '1969' is more dramatic and has a slightly romantic touch to the way it unfolds. Finally, there is the 8-minute 'Coming Home': this one is simply peculiar but tremendously enjoyable.

Excellent really, a very enjoyable release from the first glimpses of 'Nemoralia' until the final seconds of 'Coming Home', Ulver have definitely achieved something special with 'The Assassination of Julius Caesar' - this album is full of satiating soundscapes, intricate arrangements, lovely vocals, and dreamy episodes, and is above all, quite far away from the generic, sample synthpop record, whose capabilities have been abused (and compressed) by the more mainstream artists of nowadays - this album, contrariwise, is simultaneously a proposal for the seeking listener and a presentation of what the music could sound like and where the genre could have gone, and how much depth you can fill in some 43 minutes of time.