What is it with the UK and art rock? Seemingly every year, some group of university students stumbles into each other at a pub or cafe and decides to start inventing new and incredible ways of creating guitar music. From Stereolab to Portishead to Radiohead to more recent groups like Mandy, Indiana; the British rock scene has always been lousy with inventive rock groups that push boundaries. Enter Ulrika Spacek.
From post-punk jangle to psych-tinged synths, the quintet from Reading combines plenty of familiar concepts to craft albums that are greater than the sum of their parts. The members of Ulrika Spacek have steadily built on their guitar-based concept across their four LPs and an EP. EXPO (released in February) is their most expansive yet, with samples and synths providing an airiness and mystique. Not that their previous releases lacked ambition. A moody psychedelia has always haunted their albums. Fans of Canadian post-punk greats Women will have a lot to like here, even if Ulrika Spacek’s melodies are gentler and less agitated. But the band has added some new tools to create a more eclectic cacophony.
Supporting EXPO, Ulrika Spacek rides a bit of hype into their headlining tour, which found them braving an unseasonably frigid spring evening at Empty Bottle. Friday night’s show started off with synth-y up-and-comers Marital Bed. The local group certainly fits the Chicago scene and its penchant for dour post-punk and new wave. Discus were next, bringing some breezy and bittersweet indie rock that struck a lighter note than the rest of the bill.
With modest stage presence and sparse visuals, Ulrika Spacek doubtless operates under the pretense that everyone is there strictly for the music. Even the jovial Friday night crowd quieted down and got to the serious business of music-appreciation as they took the stage. Unsettling keys, elusive guitars, and nifty drumfills on “I Could Just Do It” opened their set. The quintet is adept at building and layering. EXPO finds the band adding sonic dynamism and abrupt tonal shifts to the jittery stops-and-starts of previous work. With laid-back tempos, the band channeled the hypnotics of Spiritualized at times, or the dense fuzz of My Bloody Valentine when the tunes called for it. They’re certainly not looking to win you over right away.
There are some lighter electronic accents, especially on “Weights & Measures,” but Ulrika Spacek is first and foremost a guitar band. On their own, the wonderful fretwork of Edwards and Jenkins would be spindly or even dissonant. But as the guitars loop and intertwine, they create a backdrop to Rhys Edwards’ vocals. “#1 Hum” is emblematic of their ability to concoct serpentine guitar passages, while "Everything All The Time” finds them rocking much more than usual.
Ulrika Spacek songs tend to mutate, abruptly shifting or even making U-turns back to where they started. The melodies seem liquid, even if they’re grounded in a deftly organized rhythm section. The percussion can’t go unmentioned. It was, by far, the aspect of the group’s sound that I was most interested in seeing translated to a live setting. Callum Brown’s beats oscillate between trip-hop punchiness and metronomic intricacy. Many of these songs, especially the drumming and guitar interplay, are reminiscent of In Rainbows-era Radiohead.
Breathy vocals and opaque lyrics aren’t exactly letting you into their world without some effort, but the type of listener that finds their way to Ulrika Spacek shows probably puts more effort into music than your average concertgoer. There’s little to no attempt at accessibility, but these songs aren’t necessarily dreary. “Picto” is one of their heaviest and moodiest, but the crowd never seemed subdued. Not even their hefty dose of reverb could stymie the peppy pop-rock guitars of “Mimi Pretend.” Synth flourishes and some of the best drumming of the evening make the oddly serene “Build a Box, Then Break It” a favorite.
“The Sheer Drop” was their most climactic track. Angular (for lack of a better term) guitar plucking, playful percussion, and eerie keys combine for their most memorable intro. Each built the song up only to frantically crash out. After a short pause came “NK,” which demonstrates how well the group can create texture. Ulrika Spacek's soundscape has too much topography to ever be considered shoegaze, but there are certainly similarities with whirring layers of distortion and juxtaposed passages swinging between loud and quiet.
The never-ending parade of UK hype bands rarely features groups as idiosyncratic as Ulrika Spacek, but they’re aiming for something more sustainable with their refined sound and concept. The crowd definitely reacted to the older tunes, but the tracks off of EXPO stood out the most. The almost proggy arrangements and added emphasis on synths suggest the group has leveled up. Can they help the band break through? If they’re still finding their audience, the Empty Bottle was a good place for them to look.
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