ROBERT SCHNEIDER - guitar and lead vocals
JOHN FERGUSON - drums and backup vocals
BEN FULTON - synthesizer and bass
ROBERT BEATTY - synthesizer and electronics
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Influences
Pavement
Velvet Underground
Sounds Like
"...early KINKS and even THE FRESH YOUNG FELLOWS..." -Babysue.com
To define: There is Ulysses. Ulysses have just completed their first album, entitled 010, and are preparing to release it via Eenie Meenie Records on October 26th. Which is why we're here. There are the Apples in Stereo. The Apples in Stereo have released 4 full-length albums, 1 mini-album, 2 compilations, 4 EPs, and more singles than you can shake a stick at, should you be so inclined. There is Marbles. Marbles released one album, two singles, and is finishing another full-length as we speak, although we're not actually speaking.
To explain: Ulysses is a band from Lexington, Kentucky, a member of which is Robert Schneider. You may know him as the co-founder of the notable, officially defunct, and much revered Elephant 6 Recording Co. which spawned bands like Neutral Milk Hotel, Olivia Tremor Control, The Minders, Beulah, and Of Montreal. You may know him as an engineer who recorded, mixed, produced, and otherwise had his hands on many of those Elephant 6 releases. You may know him as the guitarist and singer of The Apples in Stereo and the sole member of Marbles. You may not know him at all. But any relationship has to start somewhere, and Ulysses is a fine place to start. So...
To explore: The genesis of Ulysses lies back in the halcyon days of 2003, and a chance encounter in Lexington, where Schneider had recently relocated from Denver, Colorado. Looking for an outlet for some decidedly different songs he was writing, Schneider saw a show by local pop group Big Fresh, liked their sound, and approached two of their members about being in a new band. After one rehearsal, Ulysses had turned a concept into a full-fledged band, with John Ferguson on drums and backup vocals and Ben Fulton on synthesizer and bass. The band soon expanded to a foursome, with Hair Police's Robert Beatty providing atmosphere via electronic sound manipulation.
To execute: The immediacy of the situation and the chemistry of the new band was obvious to all concerned. So Ulysses set up their instruments around a single microphone in Schneider's garage and recorded live. In four hours they completed the ten songs that form the basis of 010. The plan was to re-record these songs in the studio, but when they finished, Ulysses felt like they had already captured the best takes of the songs -- so they decided to forgo a bit of fidelity in favor of emotion.
"I really love the roughness," says Schneider of the record. "The vocal takes especially -- they were all first takes, and I just loved the emotion we captured. My idea for Ulysses was for it to be evocative -- a sort of sad, empty, but hopeful feeling, both through the music and the lyrics." So they decided to expand on the demos, building a looser, sparser, and ultimately freer album than Schneider's typically more structured and intricate studio recordings with the Apples.
To hear: 010 is something of a musical epiphany -- a musically and emotionally direct record that thrives on dissolution, change, loss, and noise, from an artist better known for his joyful disposition and sun-drenched melodies and harmonies. There is personal stuff here that delves far deeper than the Apples in Stereo have ever cared to go, and though the lyrics may be oblique, the feeling is tangible -- from the wish to see a former lover happy ("Push You Away"), to the desire to escape ("The Falcon"). There are also new sounds and influences -- from the shambling indie rock of classic Pavement on "Burning You" to the new New Wave of "Television" to the raw Velvet Underground and Spaceman 3 vibe that pervades throughout.
"With Ulysses, I wanted to do everything differently, just change my whole way of writing songs," says Schneider. And you can feel it in the edges, the primitive sound, and the willingness to expand his musical worldview, even as the hooks are, as always, too plentiful to count.
To recapitulate: There is Ulysses. Ulysses is not The Apples in Stereo. Ulysses is a new side of an old friend, with a little help from his new friends. With 010, Robert Schneider has produced yet another classic album, which is exactly what we have come to expect.
Want to learn more about ULYSSES.?
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