Ultravillain - Lost in You EP

If you're into music that challenges you, not only intellectually but emotionally as well, Ultravillain will satiate your desires.  They have released their debut EP on their website as a free download and it's an album that I actually wish I would have been able to buy because I would love to support them in a financial manner.  The album is far more mature than a debut and has a quality that most artists take years to develop.  The lyrics are well crafted and never compete with the synth and vice versa.  Both Chris and Tobias work in tandem to create something special.  If these four songs are a representation of what they are capable of doing on their first shot out of the gate, I can't wait to hear what they have in store for us.

Much like their first single, "Break Out", this EP is full of dark sex appeal that never crosses the boundary into smutty or too much.  I think that's a helluva thing to do because it is very easy to quickly become a parody of yourself without trying but they have straddled the line and do so without trying, it would appear.  I think the driving bass lines and the slow tempo of the backing tracks against Chris' voice just build this perfect scenario that just create steam.  I am amazed at the range that Chris has.  He has one of the most interesting voices I think I've heard in a long time.  I would totally be ok with him singing the phone book to me.  The themes of the songs aren't as overtly sexual as "Break Out" but maybe there's some residual sexiness carrying over from that song that just amps up the appeal of these tracks.

Each of the four tracks has it's on personality and it's own ability to stand on it's own.  I've listened to several full length albums of late from artists that have been in the game a long time and I have been sorely disappointed because all 10 or 12 songs are just one note.  They're flat and there's not enough variation to distinguish one from another.  I would throw one of those albums on as background noise at a party just to fill up the silence.  I can't say that for this EP.  People would stop to listen to every track and hang on every lyric because there's interest there.  It's made up of four individual parts that make this incredibly fascinating machine and it commands your attention and deserves to be heard.  These guys have an intention and they have a destination in mind where they want to you get to and when you get there, the headspace is filled with this melancholic bliss that leaves you wanting more.

The track order on an album always amazes me because it can either fuck up the vibe or it can keep you spinning.  The way the tracks are laid out on this EP are genius.  Putting "Death Rattle" third is like the greatest car chase in the best action movie ever.  It's the beginning of the third act and it just takes you and sends you to the stratosphere.  It's deliberate in it's execution and it wouldn't have the impact it does if it was anywhere else in the line up.  Then to follow it with "Sensitive Mind" helps you come down.  It's the breather you need after your mind has been blown, the cigarette after, as it were.  Starting with "Lost In You" sets the tone of where this trip is taking us.  It's the foreplay of the album.  It's easy and slow but the lyrics are seductive and you don't realize how wrapped up you get until you are hooked.  You then take "Crosses" and it creates this bridge between the songs that begins the uphill ascent needed to get you into position for lift off.  It's sleek and mercurial and just slides between your fingers.  It also is a bit of a deceiver.  When you first listen to it, you just want a slow groove to sink into but when you pay attention to the lyrics, it's got this power to it that just makes you say, "Damn".

It's an amazing EP and I think it helps to set the stage for Ultravillain to become one of the premier ElectroRock groups.  They have been gaining momentum with the release of the video for "Break Out" and this EP is only going to propel them to new heights.  You can download both this EP and "Break Out" for free on their website

UltraVillain on the Web

http://www.ultravillain.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UltraVillainMusic
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/UltraVillainMusic
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/ultra-villain