Ultravox - Brilliant


It all started to tickle for the members of the most successfull line-up of Ultravox. when they worked on the release of their eighties remasters Vienna, Rage In Eden, Quartet and Lament. Some hadn't spoken with eachother for years. but as they used to say, it worked out well, and in April 2009 Midge Ure, Warren Cann, Billy Currie and Chris Cross toured successful through the UK and played for sold out venues.

The result was the live registration Return To Eden which was released in 2010. To promote the release the band did a second tour, which brought them to mainland Europe as well. As a result in 2011 the ep Moments Of Eden was released. From that moment rumours started to circle, the band was in the studio to record their first album together in more than 27 years (I don't count U-vox, since this album was recorded without Warren Cann).

Brilliant is the result. A strong twelve tracks long album in the retro wave style, with electric- synth- and computer-pop reverences. From the start it is clear the band have been able to create a great successor of Lament, progressing but stil very Ultravox alike, with clear melodic atmospheres from the eighties albums but also links to nowaday bands like Mirrors, whose sound can be heard in Rise. Although This One reminds me of the U-Vox material and Fall goes back to the Lament era, both are not the strongest songs on the album.

But overall the album is great with atmospheric songs like Remembering and The Change, the uptempo rocksong Flow, one of my favourites, the well known style of Ultravox in the titletrack Brilliant and Let It Lie, both also favourites. It is a pity the violin is only used in two tracks, Satellite and Contact, but the overall result is one of the best albums Ultravox has ever made. For sure you can say that this album is Brilliant.

tracklist:

Live Again
Flow
Brilliant
The Change
Rise
Remembering
Hello
This One
Fall
Let It Lie
Satellite
Contact

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