Review Summary: My Epic’s cerebral side comes out in Ultraviolet.
Over three albums and several EPs, My Epic has always maintained an enviable balance of consistently excellent output and musical evolution. Ultraviolet makes that immediately clear with its opening songs, which constitute Aaron Stone and his bandmates’ most noticeable attempt to break out of their box.
“Of Wilderness” is nearly straight-up pop, with slick production that’s unlike anything the group has previously attempted - and elliptical, ambiguous lyrics that appear at first glance to be a departure from the usually-straightforward Christian themes of their songs. This can be a bit deceiving, though. The poppy aesthetic is largely superficial, with ethereal guitar melodies consistent with prior work, and a chorus that would sound right at home on any of their previous releases if some heavy guitar was applied on top. Still, it’s likely to be a polarizing song for its almost-mainstream ambitions, and it’s without a doubt the least-My Epic sounding song the band has ever penned.
“Voices” is the EP’s most experimental song and also the weakest. While Stone and company are to be commended for pressing beyond their comfort zone and trying new sounds, the song never seems to go anywhere. There’s no real buildup and not much in the way of melody to make the song memorable. The lyrics are also oddly unengaging for the band. The song evokes "Memoir” from the preceding Viscera EP, as well as tracks from Broken Voice, but it’s not nearly as good as either of those.
Fortunately, the latter half of Ultraviolet eclipses the first, as My Epic settles into more familiar melodic territory, with a trio of songs evocative of what you’d hear on Vheissu and Come Now, Sleep. “So Be It” might be the best, its dreamlike lyrics drifting on top of a very competent rhythm section that finally gets a chance to shine. “I lost the sea last night, none of the shore’s in sight, all of the stars still hang in sequences but I don’t know this sky” Aaron Stone sings, indicative of the group’s continued growth into more complex, uncertain themes that began on “Wive’s Tale” from Viscera.
The biggest takeaway from Ultraviolet is My Epic’s increased competency in subtlety. Of course, some of their best songs hit you like a cement mixer - it’s one of the reasons why “Lower Still” and “Open Letter” are such powerful, moving compositions - but a broader range ensures that the band stays interesting and can create additional dynamics to variate their musical landscape. This is what makes “In Absentia” and its ringing haze successful. A tightly-composed piece of dream-prog that sounds somewhere between Thrice’s Alchemy Index and Mew, the song reaches a climactic peak without smothering everything in distortion. My Epic’s heavier tendencies tend to be a bit disappointing (“Royal”) almost as often as they succeed (“Lower Still”), so this growth is welcome.
EP closer “Two Nights” encapsulates the good and bad of My Epic’s approach on this release. The song is at its best when embracing the newfound dreamy qualities it shares with the two prior tracks and Viscera’s “Wive’s Tale,” but the chants of “Ultraviolet, ultraviolet” are grating and the song would feel more cohesive without it. It’s a solid song with some well-integrated progressive elements, but doesn’t pack the emotional wallop of Viscera’s “Open Letter.”
While Viscera represented the band’s entire identity concentrated into four songs and change, Ultraviolet takes one aspect of My Epic and focuses on developing it. Representing one-half of two conceptual releases, this is to be expected, but although more than half of the EP is excellent, there’s a sense that this concept is more limiting than liberating. There’s still plenty to love on Ultraviolet, but we won't get the full picture until its heavier successor Violence comes out later this year.
