In this age of information glut, whether it is the number of music titles available or the method by which you can reach them, it is so easy for quite a few albums that deserve to be heard to slip through the cracks. This album by Ulrika Spacek (Ulrika who?), came out exactly a year ago, and it virtually went by unnoticed. And it shouldn’t have.
I don’t know who Ulrika Spacek is who inspired these two Londoners, Rhys Edwards and Rhys Williams, they don’t tell. Could be a girl they met in Berlin the night they formed the band under this name and put down the concept for this, their first album, “The Album Paranoia”.
After a few listens, I wouldn’t be to tell you what the paranoia thing is all about. Yes, you can hear their influences, Stephen Malkmus (Pavement), Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine), Tom Verlaine (Television), and a few others. But, they wear them well and mix them up nicely, making a good combination and very enjoyable sounds. Anyway, it seems Tom Verlaine is lost in action, it hasn’t been heard from Malkmus in a while and try getting in touch with Shields unless he wants to pop up himself.
What Ulrika Spacek definitely do not do is your usual shoegaze thing. That is not a bad thing in itself anyway. But from the starter “I Don’t Know” to the closer “Airportism”, they are able to skilfully combine Malkmus-style vocals with Shields inspired guitar haze and Verlaine melody changes. They create a very spacey sound that has a unified atmosphere that carries you through the album effortlessly.
Some might complain that the sound of Ulrika Spacek is nothing particularly original. What they forget is that sometimes it is the hardest thing to combine your influences and come up with something that does not earn you a title of a copycat and produces a good sound. Ulrika Spacek are able to do that here. Don’t let this one slip through the cracks.
