Lyckantropen Themes

Album review

Lyckantropen Themes is Ulver's first foray into film soundtrack music, although musically it picks up right where their previous two EPs, Silence Teaches You How to Sing and Silencing the Singing, left off. That makes sense, considering how those two EPs often resembled soundtracks themselves, with their ambiguous moods and lurking-in-the-shadows electronic ambiance. Once again, there are no lead vocals and no typically structured songs. Instead, the keyboards (especially the piano synth) dominate, setting the alternately suspenseful and melancholy mood of the soundtrack, with occasional down-tempo drum-machine beat, distant saxophone call, or rainstorm sample added to the mix. There's not much in the way of memorable tunes or any other compositional elements, but at least, unlike many soundtrack recordings, the album's tracks do flow nicely together as a whole. This disc is not at the top of the Ulver must-have list, and those who weren't wowed by the Silence EPs in particular can safely pass on it. Taken on its own, though, Lyckantropen is still a solid, respectable album of semi-dark ambient-electronic music, and at 37 minutes long, it doesn't wear out its welcome.

© William York /TiVo