ULLS

One of my primary motivations for starting this site was highlighting small-time bands that are easy to overlook. One such act is Ulls. Ulls (Catalan for "eyes") is a one-man project based out of Barcelona that plays a somewhat heavy, eerie, organ-fueled variety of prog. The music often leans heavily on atmosphere, evoking certain acts who have scored films, like Goblin or early Pink Floyd.

Their 2019 LP, Anoia s'apodera ("Boredom sets in") was one of my favorites of that year. However, it was released in December 2019, and I didn't discover it until a few months into 2020. Thus, all it got on this site was a brief Odds & Ends entry. That is a big reason why my year-end best-of lists now cover December-to-November. When I got the alert from the Bandcamp app that Ulls was releasing a new record, titled Cripta nau ("Ship crypt"), I was quick to pre-order it.

A slow, lurching, doomy riff opens "Cap de llop, cos de serp" ("Wolf's head, snake's body"). Electric piano, echoing guitar, chanted vocals, and thumping drums give this opening cut a spooky, ritualistic feel that reminds me of Ulls' fellow non-Castillian-Spanish prog band Moura. Tensions remain high as the song picks up momentum. Guitars spiral and twirl, playing harmonies in slightly-off-sounding intervals, adding to the disorienting atmosphere.

Cripta nau's title track comes next, and it's got a much warmer, almost lighthearted feel in its opening. The bass and vocals have a strange bounciness to them, but when guitar and electric piano join, that adds a sense of gloominess to things. This song's relaxed pace provides a nice balance to the constant, swelling anxiety of the album's opener.

"Clapits a l'alba" ("Clapped at dawn") has a stormy opening with wailing vocals and crashing waves of organ and distorted guitar, but this turmoil is soon contrasted against more restrained passages. Ulls expertly keeps the mood of this piece claustrophobic, and the sense of forward movement never ceases, even during mellower moments.

Side two of Cripta Nau is consumed by the 15-minutes "El descens" ("The descent"). Airy-yet-ominous syncopated acoustic guitar starts things on a relatively light note, but there is a sense of something more brewing beneath the surface. The melody, atmosphere, and modal choices all remind me of a slightly darker version of early '70s Italian prog acts, like Banco del Mutuo Soccorso or Biglietto per l'Inferno. Moments of heavy guitar will swell up, only to be abruptly undercut with acoustic guitar and rich keyboard tones.

Musical themes are revisited in slightly altered ways, lending a satisfying sense of continuity to this long piece. Things remain fluid and exciting as the song alternates between vocal and instrumental passages. Warbling, reedy organ and clear, glassy synth tones contrast beautifully with the crunch of the guitar. The song's end is fairly quiet and adds hand percussion and echoing atmospherics that call to mind classic Mars Volta albums.

Ulls' second full-length release is another wonderful addition to their oeuvre. Cripta nau is heavier and more psychedelic than Anoia s'apodera, but it's no less enjoyable. It shows growth and exploration, and I'm looking forward to hearing more of this act's evolution.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2024/07/08/album-review-ulls-cripta-nau/

[Originally published at The Progressive Aspect]

The debut release from Ulls crashes into being with a glorious sound reminiscent of King Crimson's 21st Century Man, but warmer and less edgy. In fact, what King Crimson might have sounded were they a rock progressivo Italiano band. If you didn't know any better, apart from having far better production, this could have been an RPI release from the '70s. Well, so long as you didn't recognise it isn't Italian being sung. Truth be told, I probably wouldn't even have noticed that, as I'm far from being a polyglot. For all I know, it is Italian being sung ? but I presume it is either Spanish or Catalan. Regardless, this is a great opening track to draw one into the album and begin the journey David Trillo wishes to take us on.

For Ulls is not a band, so much as a one-man endeavour from multi-instrumentalist Trillo ? and he's quite clearly a talented musician, as every instrument is played extremely well. At about the two-minute mark of opening track Corona D'Or, the song shifts from the Crimsonesque, to a quite beautiful bridge, and half a minute or so later we find that Trillo has a very pleasant singing voice, too. After a return to the sound the song began with, it ends with a beautiful and delicate folk-like flourish that I assume might be Catalan. With a title translating, I assume, as 'Golden Crown', I have to wonder if this is a titular reference to how much influence King Crimson has given to the song. He may be a Crimson King, but it would seem he wears a Golden Crown. However, although Corona d'Or comes close to being derivative, it is definitely fresh and original enough to avoid feeling that way. As much as I like it, though, the best is yet to come, and Corona D'Or is my least favourite track on the album.

And for anyone who has any concerns that the rest of the album might continue treading the fine line of being derivative, these should soon be dissipated by the following Reig Bord. It's a delightful wee ditty, with some great drumming to lead us in. The track is rhythm led throughout ? if it's not the drums taking centre stage, it's the bass. As the album progresses, it becomes apparent that each track is longer than the preceding one, which really helps give a sense of a journey. It's not a new trick, and it's one I've come across often, but it rarely works as well as it does on this album. In recent times, the only other album I can think of where it gives such a feeling of distance travelled is oltreLuna by Progenie Terrestre Pura. I find myself enjoying myself further with each longer track. Basically, this album just gets betterand better as you progress further through it. It also helps that such a variety of sound and style is used. I've mentioned Crimson and RPI, and to add to that you could chuck in some space rock and psychedelia, taking in not just obvious subjects like Pink Floyd and Hawkwind, but traversing musical geography from the Canterbury scene to Krautrock.

According to the Bandcamp, Anoia s'apodera is not only the first album from Ulls, but also the first of a series of albums depicting the story of a self-induced posthumous trip. I can't help but wonder then about the possible twin meanings of 'Anoia' for the title. Anoia is a word across several languages which describes a state of extreme mental disfunction, or mindlessness. It can be a term used for the final stages of dementia. Anoia is also a Catalan river, and I'm unsure if anoia carries the same meaning in Catalan as it does in English ? but if it does, it is easy to draw a comparison between Anoia, the river of mindlessness, and Lethe, the river of forgetfulness ? one of the rivers one has to cross to make a posthumous trip in Ancient Greece. Without using Google translate, I have no idea what 's'apodera' means, which means my interpretation could be way off. You'd think I might want to find out, but honestly, I enjoy the music too much to care. Sometimes it's nice to just let yourself be taken away. And, this is an album that can do just that.

Anoia s'apodera ends with the almost quarter of an hour length La Ilum Eterna Tremola, which I'm going to take a guess translates as 'The Eternal Light Trembles'. I know I could use Google translate, and maybe I should, but just as 'Corona d'Or' seemed obvious, so does this, and I'm lazy so I'll stick with my translation. This final track is without doubt my favourite. It's length allows it to develop and unfold its many textures and atmospheres. Indeed, it's almost two songs, so distinct is the second half of the song from the first. It's a gorgeously rich and ambitious piece full of understated nuance and ambience. Trillo shows he's not just an accomplished musician but a great arranger. The first half of the song ends in a delicious burst of electronica à la Kraut, before the second half kicks in, eventually culminating in a symphonic finale.

If this is the first of a series of releases, I can't wait to continue the trip. Let's hope it's not a posthumous one for me. In these days, none of us can take life for granted. In the meantime, you could do far worse than taking a journey with David Trillo?