Ultravox was one of the bands that I loved from afar. An interesting techno sound for the late seventies early eighties. As that whole new wave new romantic scene evolved, Midge Ure and his band of bro's spiffed up and helped lead the way. They had some moderate hits 'Hymn', 'Dancing With Tears In My Eyes', 'The Voice', 'Reap The Wild Wind', 'Love's Great Adventure', 'We Came To Dance' and of course my personal favorite 'Vienna'.
But that was almost thirty years ago. In those years techno has evolved and you cant help but wonder where these old timers will fit. Great story telling and melodies area not exactly part of the plug in dance world anymore. After their 2009 'Return To Eden' reunion tour the guys gave a 'what the heck' and recorded twelve tunes.
The album titled "Brilliant" will be released on May 28th. Know what's uncomfortable? The cheesy double speak press announcement below,
"Dramatic, passionate and truly epic in scale and sound, 'Brilliant' is not only a prescient reminder of how great this reborn band are, but an exciting and vital addition to an extraordinary catalogue of music which today sounds more current and influential than ever."
Here let me simplify. Ultravox was an innovative moody and wonderfully decade appropriate band in the early 80's, they have a new album due out that will try to replicate that vibe. Lets see how it flies in 2012. I'm hopeful!
Heres what they were and on May 28th we can see what they've become.