Ultravox

For the new installment of OndaRockstar, we've dug up two essential albums from the second phase of Ultravox, the one marked by Midge Ure's vocals and the band's evolution towards more romantic, symphonic sounds. A path kicked off by the landmark "Vienna" and brought to completion, with different results and approaches, by the two excellent albums that followed it.

Ultravox

Rage In Eden

(Chrysalis, 1981)

In an age of neo-romantic shapeshifting and post-modernism, people have too often chosen to forget about Ultravox, a band born out of the fortunes of electronic new wave in England, discovered and launched by Brian Eno, and within whose ranks the technological experimentation of John Foxx found expression. With the replacement of the leader by Midge Ure (on vocals and guitar), the British band relaunched itself last year, embracing existential themes tied to Mitteleuropean individualism, which found their celebration in the decadence of Vienna and Berlin.

"Rage In Eden" often takes on the density of a religious chant, though stripped of arches and columns, of light and the scent of incense. The light that filters through is that of daytime, at any hour, but never a direct ray of sun. The filter is the grey colour of glass. The physical setting is the cold stone of the cemetery ("Rage In Eden"). The four musicians choose fierce moments to chew over despair. Their skill is as glacial as the memory of Lennon's death, or Marilyn's ("I Remember – Death In The Afternoon"). And everything is systematically filtered through the icy use of keyboards and electronic percussion.

The production strikes me as more focused than "Vienna", and the album will certainly please the many lovers of this kind of sound. There's more meditation and less improvisation, more care than usual (though sloppiness was never really a mirror for Ultravox); and, unlike "Vienna", the recording of this album alone took three months.

Billy Currie is increasingly drawing on his classical influences, somewhere between Tchaikovsky and Bela Bartók, and on the warmth of his viola. "Your Name", which closes the album, along with the whole first side, are the finest things the new Ultravox have to offer.

(Paolo De Bernardin)

***

Ultravox

Quartet

(Chrysalis, 1982)

Punctual as ever, Ultravox release their new album. It's their sixth LP, the third since John Foxx's departure. The third work is always an artist's most complete, and that holds true for Ultravox too. Indeed, despite my initial hostility, it has to be said that this band has made giant strides and countless efforts to keep offering something original. Compared to previous outings, Midge Ure and co. strip their material of the pseudo-romantic vein that had previously struck them. The record gains in strength and coherence as a result, without showing any sign of weakness.

That they were excellent musicians was already known, but their originality and creativity only come to light now. They've stopped wandering around Vienna and now arrive to dance, intoning a song that resembles a serenade, recalling their visions in blue. One has to wonder just how many facets this band has, even after the singles released by Midge Ure. It's certainly very hard to stay afloat in England, where trends and tempos follow one another relentlessly. Yet "Quartet" pulls it off completely, digging where everyone else has moved past: into simplicity.

The lyrics of the songs have changed, and so has their clothing. Perhaps some of the credit goes to George Martin's measured production; the fact remains that the sound has undergone a remarkable improvement (it must have been those "visions in blue").

Ultravox shake off any sense of seniority in one single gesture: "Quartet". One last thing worth noting: the recording, like the album itself, is excellent. It's digital.

(Gianluca Jandelli)

(Rockstar, 1981-'82)

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05/05/2026