Ultraviolet Makes Me Sick - ... No Freeway, No Plan, No Trees, No Ghosts
(Camera Obscura)
After a title like that, what's left? Plenty, I say. For openers, there's the downstream floater "This is the Season for Rest, She Said," with its classic jazzy post-rock vibe. And if you listen closely to guest vocalist Andrea Ferraris on the Floydian "Counter-Clockwise," or peek at the included lyric sheet, you will note unlikely references to Creedence Clearwater Revival ("Bad Moon Rising"), French fries, and Klaus Kinski. The tune itself adds a melodramatic air to the style of mellow, dreamy psychedelic rock purveyed by the much-loved and dearly lamented Ebeling-Hughes or Camera Obscura's own Phineas Gage. Gianmaria Aprile's wonderfully melodic guitar lines on "Overexposed" are another perfect representation of the best that postrock has to offer. They may be responsible for the band's silly but accurate reputation as "the Italian Tortoise," especially when compared with the latter's "Along the Banks of Rivers").
One of the more unsettling elements on this new album is the constant transition of songs into different keys, rhythms, melodies, and instrumentation. Passages that feel as if they're ending actually begin life anew, giving many tracks - "A Two-Headed Coin" and "Hearts and Minds out of Tune and Reversed" are prime examples - a proggy, suite-like vibe, further distinguishing UVMMS from your run-of-the-mill post-rock act. The syncopated pounding of the closer, identified simply as "...", may also bring to mind the great John Wetton-led period of King Crimson. According to the liner notes, the track was "taken from an improv session vanishing at night: no overdubs added, only the feelings of that moment impressed." His Royal Frippertronic Highness, Sir Robert himself, couldn't have said it better.
The lovely piano-and-guitar duet "Brothers Fallen near Allen" may be the prettiest piece of music I've heard all summer. And while not far removed from the modus operandi of the aforementioned Chicago band, it should put a warm glow in the hearts of fans of other international post-rockers, such as Australia's cinematic Silver Ray, Norway's emotional White Birch, and the sweeping pop soundscapes of fellow countrymen Port-Royal, Yuppie Flu, and Leben. "I Think I Feel the Night Comin' On" even adds spunky percussion to the mix (courtesy of Davide Impellizzeri), emulating the new direction of (personal faves) Tarentel.
Simultaneously cinematic and expansive, yet warm and intimate, this is a vast improvement on UVMMS' debut and one of 2004's best post-rock entries to date.
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