Ural Umbo — Delusion of Hope
They draw from a variety of influences on this recording. In an opening gesture which at first led me to believe this would be an entire album of smoothly undulating drone and nebulous ambient atmosphere, "Initial Magnetization Curve" creeps into being with a glacial patience. A pulsing amalgam likely assembled from ebowed guitar and processed cello opens into a wide spirit space, its many metallic facets glistening, refracting and spinning gently in unison. Airy, hollowed out pads cushion the ... The cosmic stillness at the heart of this piece has its roots in the space ambient of Steve Roach and Lustmord, as well as drone music like Earth and a great many modern groups.
To my surprise, the next track, "Sych", is 3 minutes of pounding war drums and guitar feedback. It's powerful enough, sounding something like a more rhythmic and dense TenHornedBeast, but I find myself thinking the murky, distorted production on the album does not serve well because the music wants to breathe. There are many layers and smooth timbres in all these songs which would sound marvellous cascading into a fully developed soundspace. Instead, the space is mostly obscured.
"The Dead and Fabled Waste" is such a cliched reiteration of "satanic ritual musick" that it takes me out of the Ural Umbo experience, and almost makes me laugh. Two 'eerie' chords alternate to and fro with on a cheap synth patch, each sound punctuated with a cheesy b-movie soundtrack style 'plink'. Indecipherable, pitched down muttering plays the part of the devil. With the way the piece swells, the listener is clearly supposed to feel evil drawing ever nearer, but I can't help but think this piece has no distinctive character what-so-ever. Luckily they fare better at the same approach later in the album.
"Self Fulfilling Prophecy", the opener of side B (which really should have opened the album IMHO), is the album's best track, a doom metal dirge imbued with real terror and sonic force. Descending chords of pure sludge crush both the air and the hope out of the listener as they beat in unison with single hits from a snare drum. The synth blends in more effectively on this track, deepening the oppressive claustrophia of the sonic wall with dissonant tones.
The oil black ripples of "Resinous Compound" successfully congeal into thick interplanar fog over 2 or 3 minutes. The voices of more believable creatures and demonic presences become audible as they attempt to traverse the steadily solidifying pathway between worlds. This song and the other resident space track "Evocative Luminance" are highlights of the album for their drifting sparseness, providing wonderful food for the imagination.
For all the hellish intimidation techniques and soulless coldness which permeates the rest of the album, "So I Here I Live Sorry" couldn't be more sentimental and human. A hymn to the personal sanctuary (and the memories made therein) of an imagined subterranean hermit played on a warm, nostalgic synth pad. Gentle bells sketch nearly inaudible arpeggi; Ural Umbo has finally allowed their music to be simply beautiful. It almost brings a tear to my eye, fantastic stuff. But does it belong here?
The closer, "Thermal Layering", is a marvellous slice of emotional ambiguity, working with the heady mysticism of the organ in a way the heavy-handed previous tracks failed to, resulting in a light-headed perpetual rising sensation. The detuned horns (trumpets?) in the second half of the piece were a wise choice. There's a vague anticipation about the song, and it seems to say 'to be continued' in a way that's good for an album closer.
For the most part, though, I feel the 8 pieces here could be played in any order; each ends completely before the next begins, and the shift in atmosphere and sound between songs is often jarring. Sometimes I think that though Ural Umbo clearly understand the feelings and imagery they want to evoke and the sounds they need to get it, they have little idea how to weave a narrative. I can say the record is concise, however, and since no track wears out its welcome, it's a very listenable LP.
Conclusively, I was impressed by Ural Umbo's "Delusion of Hope", though it's a bit patchy, scatterbrained and rough around the edges. I have high hopes for this group, and they're doing a great job continuing Utech's legacy. I recommend it mostly to fans of other Utech releases and ritualistic ambient works, but most other listeners should be able to find enjoyment and food for thought in it as well, even if they don't enjoy every track