Welcome back to Left of the Dial: Remastered! To celebrate Ultra Q’s new EP that’s slated for release in November, let’s take some time to reflect and look at their early material. This includes the group’s only LP, Chroma, and their first EP, Mt. Eddy. If you want to know more about the band and their recent material, I suggest you check out my reviews of We’re Starting to Get Along and In a Cave In a Video Game.
Before we dive into this review, though, I need to make some corrections. In my We’re Starting to Get Along review, I incorrectly referred to the Mt. Eddy EP as Zombie, and I’m sorry if that caused any confusion for you. The proper name is Mt. Eddy, and that’s how I’ll refer to it from here on. I also managed to misspell the last name of the Malaspina brothers in that review, so I apologize for that as well. While we’re clearing the air, I’ll also be referring to the band by their current name throughout this review for the sake of consistency; this is also to make sure there’s no confusion between the EP name and the band name.
Anyways, let’s get back to the music. Chroma was released back in June 2017, and Mt. Eddy came out in March 2018. Despite the lack of time between these releases, they each serve as distinct evolutionary steps toward the sound that would come to define Ultra Q today. Let’s explore those steps together and put these records on!
Chroma: Side A
Side A features “Chroma,” “Wilshambe,” “Lovely,” “Working Title,” and “Song and Fury.”
For an opening track, “Chroma” is a ballsy choice! It’s a The Who-inspired piece with multiple movements, and it could easily alienate your audience if you can’t pull it off well. Thankfully, you can set aside those worries because Ultra Q absolutely kills it! “Chroma” is glued together with a relaxed and bluesy jazz track, serving as the opening as well as the transition between movements. Movement 1 has a garage-rock kind of sound that speeds up in the chorus for a blast of energy. Movement 2 is slower and heavier, almost like a Black Sabbath song. Thanks to the transitions, the whole thing comes together quite seamlessly, and it’s a lot of fun to listen to! The one weak area would have to be the lyrical content, and this is a small problem that’s present throughout the album. While Jakob Armstrong’s vocal melodies are excellent, the writing often comes across as incoherent and even immature at times. It seems to me that he prioritizes his voice as an instrument instead of a vehicle for storytelling/commentary, but that isn’t a bad thing. It’s a creative quirk that he takes advantage of later in the group’s career, but on Chroma, and especially on Mt. Eddy, he hasn’t had that realization yet, so it’s a tad messy. Overall, “Chroma” is an excellent kick-off to the record and a showcase of the band’s strengths and weaknesses.
“Wilshambe” is up next, and is easily my favorite track on the record. It’s a pretty simple reason why: the drums and guitar work perfectly together to make a melody I can’t resist drumming along to. It’s a shining example of the “less is more” mentality–that a song doesn’t have to be wild and complex to be good. As a testament to that statement, I’ll leave my review at that and simply let you experience this song for yourself.
“Lovely” follows, trying to focus more on lyrics than composition. Does it work? Yes, I think so! The song, at least to me, is about the group’s frustrations with modern ideas of beauty, like photoshopped models and plastic surgery. Even though the writing suffers a bit from the issues I discussed earlier, Armstrong is still able to sell it thanks to his vocal performance. He has a knack for switching his tone from cool and collected to agitated and loud like a switch. Speaking of vocals, the chorus takes its name literally by having the rest of the band sing together with Armstrong, adding urgency to lines like “won’t you hug me and hold me, and tell me I’m lovely?” While I appreciate the ambition to focus on writing, I find there are better tracks on the album than this.
“Working Title” highlights one of my favorite parts of exploring a band’s early output: wearing their influences on their sleeves. If you’ve listened to The Strokes at all, particularly to their song “Last Nite,” “Working Title” is going to sound familiar. I don’t mean to say it’s a ripoff of that song, but instead, it’s Ultra Q showing that they take a lot of influence from The Strokes. As evidence, Armstrong cited them by name in a 2015 interview as an influence on his work. Getting back to the song itself, I’m fond of it and its obvious influence. It makes me want to check out The Strokes further.
Capping off Side A is “Song and Fury.” Like “Wilshambe”, it’s a simple song, but it achieves a lot with that simplicity. For example, the bass line is surprisingly catchy and matches well with the vocal melody. Kevin Judd’s bass work is something to admire; he has a knack for using his instrument as a rhythm machine the way you’d use a drum set. Pay attention to the bass on these songs and compare them to the bass work on Ultra Q’s recent output. Now that you can’t unhear it, let’s turn the record over and check out Side B!
Chroma: Side B
Side B has “Metaphor,” “The Whale Song,” “Leave Me Alone,” “Orange,” and “Doze Off.”
“Metaphor” was actually the first Ultra Q song I ever heard, and so I have a lot of nostalgia associated with it. It was an early single to promote Chroma, and I think it was a great choice. “Metaphor” does an excellent job at giving everyone in the band moments to shine and showing off their chemistry. In another moment of revealing their influences, the composition of the track achieves this wonderful sense of atmosphere that triggers my imagination, much like the compositional style of The Cure. You’ll see later how much Armstrong admires that band, but keep that influence in mind for now.
I think there’s a lot of value in picking out your favorite bands’ influences in their early work. It’s a fun exercise in not just critical thinking, but it also gives you some ideas on what other artists to check out. As an example, learning about Green Day’s early influences introduced me to bands like Operation Ivy and Rancid, and picking apart their influences led me down a rabbit hole of awesome music I wouldn’t have given a chance otherwise. If you’re bored one day, I suggest you look into your favorite band’s early output and see if you can spot any obvious influences, then look into those artists.
Okay, let’s get back on track with “The Whale Song.” It seems that Ultra Q’s fondness for weird song names goes back a ways. If you ask me, I think the title alludes to feelings of lethargy that come with anxiety and depression. This is a track that focuses primarily on Armstrong’s vocals, and while his performance is excellent (as usual), the song doesn’t offer much else. I feel like the composition is haphazardly sewn together from bits and pieces, so it doesn’t flow quite as smoothly as other songs. You’ll notice it especially in the closing, where the melody completely changes. It’s jarring and tends to confuse me into thinking another track started. I don’t recommend it past a few listens.
“Leave Me Alone,” thankfully, is a much better song. The composition achieves a strong mood of frustration and apathy thanks to the slower pace and artfully melded guitar and bass lines. There’s plenty of variety to keep things interesting while staying cohesive too. This is one I listen to a lot on its own, and it might be in competition with “Wilshambe” as my favorite track off the whole record. While I don’t have much else to say about it, I highly recommend it!
“Orange” is up next, and unfortunately it’s a nosedive in quality from the last track. Do you ever encounter a song where no matter how much you listen to it, the song can’t seem to stick in your head? This is one of them. I’ve listened to “Orange” several times and I still can’t remember a single thing about it! Even if there were some good qualities about it, I can’t recommend it because it’s not like you’re going to retain it.
Man, the quality in Side B has been such a roller coaster. Can the closing track redeem it? In “Doze Off,” the guitar and bass work together to make a great dreamy atmosphere. This is combined with some vocal effects to give the sound some distance and isolation, something that Ultra Q will take advantage of later on. The guitar solo later on is a great treat, and the closing trails off in a potently emotional way. I don’t think you ask for a better closer!
Mt. Eddy EP
The Mt. Eddy EP features “Zombie,” “I Luv Robert Smith,” and “Menial.”
If you’re listening to these two records back-to-back, “Zombie” is a massive change in sound from anything on Chroma. The drums, for example, take on more of the mechanical sound that becomes a mainstay in later releases. The general pace is also quicker, which is something I appreciate as someone with a limited attention span. The lyrics tell a story about a zombie falling for a living girl, which for the time of year I’m writing this, is seasonally appropriate. Finally, as a fun easter egg, there’s a name-drop for The Strokes. I love “Zombie,” it’s a fun and spooky romp!
“I Luv Robert Smith” is a track that I feel could have tied itself more to its namesake and his band, but the lyrical content covers for it. You’d think a title like that would be on a song that’s a big love letter to The Cure, but it’s actually about the narrator’s frustrations with a girl that hates them. Basically, “when your girl disses your favorite band.” I think there was a missed opportunity at play, but I think I can excuse it. One thing of note is the way Armstrong channels his frustration through his vocals. I’ve mentioned it before, but it feels genuine and relatable on this track. I’m glad that the band has moved on from wallowing in their angst and has found ways to express it with tongues firmly in cheek.
“Menial” is the final track we’ll be looking into, and it’s an interesting one to go out on. At first listen, you’ll hear a lot of modern Ultra Q in it. Things like the effects-heavy guitar work and experimental arrangement are fascinating to pick up on. However, I find this track is more fun to dissect as an experimental piece than it is to listen to on its own. While it gets some things right, there’s a lot it fails at too. The biggest issue is the sense of sensory overload it has later on. There are just too many instruments fighting for attention, and it’s borderline unpleasant to listen to, especially if your audio equipment is a little lacking in quality. Plus, the experimental arrangement is too unfocused to follow. I appreciate its importance in solidifying Ultra Q’s signature sound, but I also acknowledge that it’s a flawed track that can be put on the backburner.
In conclusion, Chroma and Mt. Eddy were a nostalgic look back for me, but the rose-colored glasses can’t hide the flaws that have become apparent as my musical taste has evolved. Among them, the top three tracks are “Wilshambe,” “Leave Me Alone,” and “Zombie.” The bottom three are “The Whale Song,” “Orange,” and “Menial.” Chroma’s final rating is a 7 out of 10, and Mt. Eddy’s is a 4 out of 5.
Feature Photo designed by Becca Fauteux