Synthesizer Serenity
Listening to the opening track “Melts into Air” on No Further Ahead Than Today is sure to make listeners feel a very particular way, like driving down the highway with a beautiful sunset in the sky and no one in the way. This is an album that heavily uses the typical synths of trance and the tried and true beats heard in mellower styles of EDM, but it uses them in a novel and original way. The songs on this album don’t follow the formula that seems to have become the standard in EDM over the years. Instead of the clear, predictable build up to a drop, this album aims to surprise, giving the listener musical elements and feelings they didn’t know they wanted. This music probably won’t get people rowdy at a festival or get them dancing at the club, but it will get them to listen again and again, each time discovering something new hidden within its depths.
One of the best tracks on the album is “The Magic in You”. It demonstrates Ulrich’s ability to use all the musical tools at his disposal to do something unique and awesome. Over the course of the song the melody and instrumentals progress through various stages, each more interesting and nuanced than the last. He uses synths and elements typically only reserved for EDM in a way that tries to imitate guitars in indie rock or alternative music. It is an upbeat song and a show of Ulrich’s versatility. “Negative Sunrise” is probably the angriest sounding song on this album, and it achieves this in a wholly different way than most electronic music. The tone of the synths gives this song its vibe, and the production is impeccable. It makes the listener realize how upbeat and happy this album is when the most negative song is pretty beautiful.
While there is a lot of good to be said about this album, the one thing that can become a problem is the ambient style of the music itself. While the songs all have a great amount of complexity to them if the listener is willing to dig into them, it’s easy to get lost in the long synth passages and forget how long they’ve been listening. Some of the songs could also be shorter but overall Ulrich has delivered something special for his fans, and for anyone who wants to hear something a little different. Hopefully some more electronic artists will take note begin experimenting in this way in the future.
Leave a Comment