Ulver - Neverland (2025)

Always an event when the wolves of Ulver return with their signature antics and superbly produced sound. Waiting until the last day of 2025 to unleash “Neverland”, the band continues to expand and explore with their sound, removing all vocals and focusing on creating trippy ambient soundscapes that capture subtleties of other genres like Post-Punk and Synth-pop. For 11-tracks and over forty minutes, the band weaves back and forth between dreamy and ethereal soundspaces, to darker and hypnotic pieces, always being uniquely Ulver and completely enthralling.

Setting a somber opening mood, “Fear in a Handful of Dust” creates a very ethereal vibe, similar to outfits like Hælos. The exploration of synths/pianos of the sultry “Elephant Trunk” and “Weeping Stone”, takes us back to the band’s “The Assassination of Julius Caesar” sans the vocals, while “People of the Hills” has that funkiness to it of walking into a time machine. Crafty tempo changes and Ambient elements make "They're Coming the Birds” and “Horses of the Plough” be dark and yet quite refreshing, alongside more catchy pieces like “Hark Hark The Dogs Bark”.

The band’s earlier trip-hop elements are displayed in a very engaging manner, making songs like “Pandora’s Box” superbly crafted and hard to stop replaying. A hefty dose of experimental and dreamy progressions allow tracks like “Quivers in the Marrow” and the sexy “Welcome to the Jungle” to be quintessential Ulver pieces of full-on self-discovery and sultriness. Closing with the hypnotic catchiness of “Fire in the End”, we are left with a big smile on our face.

Ulver never stays still and it was bound to happen that they would move on from their “The Assassination of Julius Caesar”-era sound back to more experimental and dreamy territories. The band’s core ideas and style of the last few decades is always present, but there are always new configurations to find and new influences to incorporate, and this is exactly what “Neverland” brings to the table. Any fan of the band will quickly fall in love with yet another excellent and engaging release from the wolves.

Label: House of Mythology

Release: December 31st, 2025

Genre: Ambient / Synth-pop / Post-Punk

Country: Norway