Album Rating: 4.5

"not sure how i feel about blue lambency either"

Woah there, Blue Lambency has a few slow patches (the opener is somewhat unfortunate) but a great atmosphere and some fantastic tracks

Album Rating: 4.7

Blue is a little erratic but I dig it.

Blue indulges in the same avant-prog cliches as part the second tho. Though, it is more distinctive .

Album Rating: 5.0

Part of me wonders about the possibility of a larger following for Toby's stuff if some of the albums made after Dowsing, aside from Hubardo, were split into different projects and bands. Toby stated something along those lines on his reddit Q&A a few months ago. Probably would make sense as I feel like most people aren't fans of all the albums, except some of the weirdos like us who frequent sites like Progarchives, Sputnikmusic, and RYM.

I don't mind cause I like all of it, but objectively there's no logic to how you go from Blue Lambency->Coyote->Gamma Knife or Hubardo->Coffins. Radiohead or even Ulver who have larger followings seem to be a little more fluid and natural with their genre-bending from album to album imo.

^ ye he said he regrets it. But at the same time when has kd ever made something for mass appeal? Perhaps some releases that are less extreme than say Coyote, but I've always thought he was aiming for a nerdy prog/metal audience. (he himself being a music nerd and all)

I'd also disagree that there is no logical continuity through his albums. The only big left field stylistic jump I can see is from LYBM -> choirs. KD albums still have a core style to them that he builds influences on top of.

The reason Radiohead are more popular is because they were capable of getting indie chart hits. They grew attention from there. Not that their music is coffee shop ambient

Album Rating: 5.0

coffins. dowsing and wats are all excellent as well



he is definitely hit and miss though

Find me an artists who isnt ^

@Talons

I don't know if I'd agree, Kayo Dot never made two albums that sound alike but all of them are some combination of (avant-)prog / (avant-)black metal and chamber music / modern classical. It's an eclectic blend as you say and I'd say the comparison to Radiohead is rather fair but it's nowhere near Ulver when it comes to genre variety. It's just that Kayo Dot play music that is simply far more difficult that anything Ulver or Radiohead put out.

With the exception of the change that came with Coffins on Io / PHoBoS, all the changes in Kayo Dot's style have been from one difficult style to another difficult style. The music of Radiohead and Ulver is simply way more accessible, it's a change from one accessible style to another, even if they switch to something that should be difficult they make it not sound like it, I love Kayo Dot and Toby but he can't do that so well.

Basically agreed with Ghandi.

Album Rating: 5.0

A big reason for Radiohead is that they began as a hugely successful mainstream alt. rock band that gradually went more into the abstract on albums 3, 4, 5, and had that solid foundation of a large fanbase that stuck with them while also catching the ears of the weirdos and electronic fans out there. Like how A7X playing to screamo & metalcore type crowds, then dabbled in hard rock & metal to include all kinds of fans and ensure more success.

I'm not saying Toby is interested in anything with mass appeal, but there're plenty of places for a niche musician to exist in between obscurity and like being a Radiohead. Also I disagree that it was a jump from LYBM -> Choirs more than anything else; sure there was changes in instrumentation and less prog metal, but that makes more sense than the development from Blue Lambency Downward to Coyote to Gamma Knife. I don't see how those connect in any major way other than generally being avant-garde and having the same singer; they're pretty much totally different genres and styles. Gamma Knife leads into Hubardo nicely though, sort of like a companion EP.

Been a while since I have seen you here. I'd say ulver have kind of settled now. Their last few releases have been less distinctive.


Btw i'm binging Jute Gyte because of you and i'm liking the early IDM/ambient stuff.

I'd like to give this AMA comment on the Library Loft
"I haven't based any songs on any really abstract methods since Tartar Lamb, I think. I enjoyed the musical place I reached with Library Loft, but that album seemed not to resonate with many people. When I released that record, I felt the need to sort of... justify the music to people with descriptions about the method, and so as a result, I learned that I should avoid making music that needs an explanation in order to be enjoyed."

Album Rating: 5.0

To be fair Library Loft is like the weirdest, darkest, most alienating album I've ever heard but I still like it. Sure took a while to click tho

I understand that an added difficulty is how dense and complicated almost all of Toby's music is, which doesn't make it easy to compare with other niche bands because it's all so unique. I also don't presume to understand how all of it works by any means, but having listened to so much maudlin and Kayo Dot these past few years, I detect very different moods and personalities across them.

BLD is like pastoral but occasionally fractured sounding experimental rock/jazz fusion, Coyote is busy prog/goth rock with jazz elements, and Gamma Knife is two goth chamber pieces bookending lo-fi jazzy avant-garde black metal. So what you get is rock and jazz instrumentation with lots of gothic touches across the board, so maybe I can see why to some Kayo Dot progresses sensibly enough for how challenging and adventurous it all is, but the albums still sound pretty different to me with what each one is going for idk

The only track I really like from In the L.L.Library Loft is Kandu vs. Corky (Horrorca), the rest are just alright.

Yeah, Ulver are definitely not as shocking as they used to, but I don't know where I would draw the line (when exactly they lost it). And still, they surprise way more than your average band, just not as much as in the past. But honestly, with so many different albums, is there really anything they could make that wouldn't sound similar to at least one of them?

Thanks! His early IDM stuff is pretty amazing, but ambient is where he shines the most for me.

That quote from TD is pretty interesting. I'd probably disagree though.

@Alexander That's a weird opinion, people usually love "Eptaceros", I'd almost say it's a fan-favorite

Album Rating: 5.0

Ulver doing the goth meets synthpop was pretty shocking I thought haha (in a good way)

Ulver lost it after Themes From William Blake's The Marriage Of Heaven And Hell don't @ me.

^ye I'd disagree too. I listened to and loved Library long before reading the theory. Its probably the closest to the next album Dowsing. Ye Eptaceros is godly

William Blake is one of Ulvers best albums tho (:

Nah, I only like Eptaceros but I don't really like it.

The Marriage Of Heaven And Hell is probably my favorite Ulver tbh (ignore my 1.0).