Ulver

The most recent Ulver release is a delicate marriage of orchestration and electronica. Subtle, and hypnotically repetitive like a funereal dance, A Quick Fix of Melancholy features only four tracks, including a text by Christian Bök put to music, and a rearrangement of a song from Kvelssanger (offered as a bonus track). The instrumental “Doom Sticks” sounds like a wicked outtake from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite — perhaps an ode to the Sugarplum Fairy’s evil cousin. Soft operatic vocals and the bleak interweaving of classical and electronic soundscapes make the EP a good companion piece for Virgin Black’s Elegant…and Dying and despite the eeriness of the results A Quick Fix of Melancholy is both soothing and haunting in equal measure.