ULRIKA SPACEK
– Share new video for “Silvertonic”
– Support Ride on UK tour next month
– Album ‘Modern English Decoration’ out now
on Tough Love Records
“An album that consistently hits its target in a magnetic, mesmerising way” – The Quietus
“The band wrings a new beauty out of classic ‘90s American indie Rock” – Stereogum
“A window into Ulrika Spacek’s world; an introspective house of absorbing alienation” – Loud and Quiet
“The London quintet have crafted an excellent sound crossing dream-pop and krautrock” – Drowned in Sound
“Riffs are layered to haunting effect” – The Sunday Times
“MOJO’s unofficial theme song” – MOJO on “Full of Men”
Ahead of their UK tour with Ride next month, Ulrika Spacek have shared a new video for “Silvertonic”.
“This is the second video we have made to support our album ‘Modern English Decoration’” the band explain. “In marriage with our video ‘Full of Men’ we have put a common human action, such as ‘training’ under abstract scrutiny. This summer we saw a lot of personal trainers in the park and observed strange interactions between people. To us, obsessively training seems quite menial. Though its a world we don’t understand, we appreciate that it is not so dissimilar to our obsessions of having to make music. This video was made by filmmaker Kyle Macfadzean, who we continue to enjoy collaborating with”
Unsurprisingly given the context of its creation, Modern English Decoration might be considered a companion piece of sorts to the band’s debut LP The Album Paranoia. But there are crucial differences. Most notably, this isn’t the work of the Ulrika Spacek conceptualised by Edwards and Williams in Berlin – Modern English Decoration is the band as five rather than two people, and it shows. Those who have witnessed the intensity of their live show will instantly recognise the merits in this. The bass and drums provide a versatile anchor, at once soft, then aggressive, while the vocals drift woozily in and out, like druggy hindsight or skewed premonition. With three guitarists in the band guitars were always going to be central to the music, but what is less expected is the dynamic interplay between the trio that suggests a three-headed version of the Verlaine-Lloyd axis at the heart of Television. What’s more, the absence of reverb is integral, in part attributable to the ambience of the studio, but also a conscious decision in order to add focus. And focus is the abiding term: this is an album designed to be just so – a 45 minute commitment, a surrender.
‘Modern English Decoration‘ is out now via Tough Love Records.
Ulrika Spacek tour dates:
November
7th – O2 Forum Kentish Town – London, UK*
8th – O2 Institute – Birmingham, UK*
9th – SWX – Bristol, UK*
10th – Leeds Beckett University – Leeds, UK*
12th – O2 Academy 1 – Liverpool, UK*
13th – Boiler Shop – Newcastle, UK*
14th – The Queens Hall – Edinburgh, UK*
15th – The Sunflower Lounge – Birmingham, UK
20th – Point Ephemere – Paris, FR
* – supporting Ride
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