Review Summary: Ulver pays homage to their childhood's musical exposure.
It's been one year since Ulver released
War of the Roses, and now they have the audacity to deprive their fan base by releasing a cover album, and not new material! Those bastards! It seems to be that case, yet the band's gears are still turning, with perhaps new inspiration. Basically, every single song is originating from the 60's psychedelic era from big named bands from that time period, such as Jefferson Airplane or The Pretty Things. Even so, when I look back on the album, I can't help but wonder about the band's future.
Childhood's End could be the leading factor that determines any musical direction the band will have for any upcoming future release. For all we know they might be creating a new era for themselves by covering these songs, or it's as simple as it is, a cover album. But that's just speculation.
As the album goes, the most expected reaction towards this release is probably,
“Oh, it's just a compilation of covers, it's gonna suck ass”, without any consideration of being open-minded. Generally that thought process usually is the case with covers in general; the
ruining-of-classics-syndrome as I call it, just look at Korn covering Pink Floyd. This time around
Childhood's End turns out to be one of those rare exceptions. For the most part, Ulver is treading in some deep waters by coming too close to that unforgivable
ruining-of-classics-syndrome. Somehow or other they manage to swim out of that mess and instead they hit a bulls-eye by adding that “Ulver” vibe to it all. The songs “The Trap”, “I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night”, “Magic Hollow”, and “Street Song”are great examples as why this compilation is worthy for entering any Ulver playlist, and the entire album itself is quite enjoyable.
Whether or not, it's still considered to be “new material”, but lets be honest, we can't rush greatness, and have knee-jerk reactions demanding new albums over a cover album. It's been one year people, so let's not get in a twist over a cover album after one year of new material being released. You just might be surprised of how enjoyable this cover album is. At the end of the day,
Childhood's End stands clear as a formidable release, even if it is a compilation of covers. A true must-have for any Ulver fan.
