SHADOWS OF THE SUN

My first Ulver album and what an album! Definitely one of the best collections of songs, start to finish, from this, the 21st Century. And though this is a dark and pessimistic concept album, it does an amazing job of conveying the despair and hopelessness of our role as perpetrators and victims of planet Earth's demise. The use of piano, tympanic drums, Oslo Session String Quartet, deep breathy vocals, synthesizers and even trumpet and theremin all help to impart the heavy, tragic mood exquisitely, even beautifully, if that is possible. I am ever awed by the wonderfully unexpected and subtle turns and twists within each and every song--including the "extra" 2 minutes of recorded silence at the end of the album's last song (after the world and/or life on the planet has been extinguished). Though an inattentive listen may leave the listener thinking the album is just one song and one mood, the attentive head-phoned listener is privy to a very artful and intimate experience.

The first song, "EOS" (5:05) (10/10) sucks you into the album experience like light into a blackhole, while the other songs, beginning with the amazing "All the Love" (3:43) (10/10) entertain as you fall in, as light begins to fade, until, finally, when you reach the last song, "Whatever Happened?" (6:25) (10/10), you are spit out on the other side, into a fresh, new universe.

There is a lot to ponder here--a lot of responsibility passed on to the listener in their message--if you're willing to hear it.

A fantastic album. Definitely a classic of our time, for the ages. A masterpiece and one of my Top Five Favorite Albums of the Naughties.