TEACHINGS IN SILENCE

As you may know by now, this is a compilation of two of Ulver's at that time most recent EP's. This however, is the definative way to purchase this music, together, as it is linked stylistically and conceptually.

Now that I have put that out of the way, I must say that the music on this album is not normal. I don't mean that in any common way either. It's not the occasional random clicking and server sounds throughout. It's the completely indescribable atmosphere this album displays throughout.

I do have to say that the first song "Silence Teaches You How to Sing" is the greatest number on this album, that does not make the rest of the songs obsolete, although it may seem so on the first couple of listens. The songs require each other to sustain the wholeness of this album. The backbone to that completeness is the energy arch displayed. That means the first song is the most energetic and changes the most often, while the last song is the most minimalistic of them all.

It is the last song I must mention as well. It seems many people do not respect this song for what it is. That i could not disagree with more. "Not Saved" is, in the least complicated way of explaining, a repeated sample of a bell with music that is also repeated. But the song is smooth and it is changing. The bells climaxes at a certain point growing to intense loudness, and near the end falls behind the music as it is electronically extended. This extention is absolutely surreal and creates the feeling of fallng behind time itself. It is something that must be experienced

As for the songs between, "Darling, Didn't We Kill You?" Is very similar to one of the sections on the first song, and fits very well after it for sustaining the compelling atmosphere.

Then another one of the most exciting pieces, "Speak Dead Speaker" is the slowest one to start, and you can feel that on the first listen. A constant clicking that gets ever farther spread apart is all that exists for the first two minutes, but the main theme eventually appears and is, however, not pervading that silence engulfing it.

I must admit that the first time i listened to this, it was exceptionally dull, and it took about 5 listens for it to grow on me enough that I enjoyed it. The reason for this is that there is music that is hidden behind the silence that it takes a while to find and appreciate, deservedly.