In the face of adversity, we sometimes forget to look on the bright side. From a certain point of view, the pandemic has been good for some artists, even if many events have been cancelled. This is the case for the Belgian band The Ultimate Dreamers, who were active between 1986 and 1990, and whose recordings were rediscovered thirty years later by the owner of Wool-E Discs. This rediscovery resulted in a selection of eleven tracks composing an amazing album to discover (or rediscover for some) and to enjoy. Released in September 2021, Live Happily While Waiting For Death is available in digital, compact disc and vinyl.
Anchored in a post-punk and coldwave aesthetic, Live Happily While Waiting For Death excels by the richness of its musical universe. Between very reverberated sounds, varied patterns which evolve in rhythmic and melodic ostinato as well as a deep melancholic atmosphere, the lovers of the genre have what’s in it for them.
In addition to its pronounced sound identity, the richness of the album is also illustrated by the diversity of its songs which offers a beautiful range of atmospheres. Tracks like “I Love You?!” with a voluble bass drum or “Female Zone” offer a very energetic music, even explosive like in “A long Time Ago.” Others are more tempered like “Japanese Death” or the excellent “Never Die” where rhythms, melody, bass and harmonies are born from a long unchanging synthesizer holding which is the thread of it. The sounds of “Education” are muffled and we can hear an incomprehensible voice that gives an interesting effect to the atmosphere. “Funeral Waltz” is the only ternary track on the album whereas “I Hate You?!” offers new flavors with its more grating notes. The album ends with “S’envoler,” a very poetic track much slower than the others and longer (07:24) which gives a very successful conclusion to it.
The Ultimate Dreamers have a quality repertoire that is bound to prosper in the current musical landscape. The promise of a new EP which would be in preparation for the year 2022, as indicated on the website court-circuit.band encourages staying tuned. It is therefore with great impatience that we wait for the new creations of Bertrand, Frédéric, Joël and Sarah.
