Ulver have been blurring the lines and boundaries on just what can and cannot be done in music pretty much since their debut in 1994. While some considered them a black metal band that had sold out or just out of their heads, only their first, Bergtatt, and third, Nattens Madrigal, could really be considered a part of that darker side of music.

In 1998, the band would break from their humble roots, assumedly never to return, to release the first album under Ulver mastermind Kristoffer Rygg’s new label, Jester Records. That one, Themes from William Blake’s Marriage of Heaven and Hell, was a sonic and lyrical experiment of the highest order that, thankfully, found success both critically and artistically.

A year passed, and then another, until word finally spread that a new album was on the horizon. Would they return to black metal or continue in the theme set by Themes…

Perdition City was a surprise. While Themes… had heavily employed the use of programming and samples throughout, its foundation was still rooted in organic instrumentation. Perdition City was just the opposite: gone were most of the members from the recording of Themes… leaving only Kristoffer and Tore Ylwizaker with a number of guests, including the band’s former guitarist, to fill in the holes. Metal of any kind it certainly was not: this was trip-hop, this was jazzy, this was electronic ambience, this was nothing we had heard before and it was brilliant.

Time passes. Since 2000, Ulver have released two soundtracks, a ten-year anniversary remix album featuring a slew of guests and a number of EPs. But no actual follow-up to their boldest stroke has surfaced.

A Quick Fix of Melancholy EP might prove to be the tide-me-over fans have clamored for before Trickster G and co. finally unveil said follow-up. Its name clearly describes what you’ll find: a quick fix, only twenty-three minutes of music which includes three new tracks plus a rearrangement of the song “Nattleite”, now called “Eitttlane“ which was supposed to appear on the remix album but didn’t make the cut.

What little that’s here is good and might end up being an indication of what to expect when Heart (formerly Utopian Enterprise) finally surfaces. To describe what it sounds like is a bit difficult; think a dark, ambient soundtrack, but more. In their press release, Ulver relates the sound to, “something like a hospital for the dying. Chamber music for the fucked and locked-up.” That could work.

The opener, “Little Blue Bird”, brings Rygg’s vocals back for the first time in a while but ultimately proves the least desirable track as the same musical phrase ends up being used pretty much throughout the entire six+ minute tune with little variation. Rygg’s unique voice helps to break up the monotony somewhat but not enough to make it more than just a fair track.

“Doom Sticks,” however, is a much more enjoyable song which can best be described – at least for me – as “The Nutcracker Suite” whilst dropping a tab of acid. Bold orchestrated movements interlaced with sweet, almost childlike key strokes give this a sinister tone that is all at once interesting and chilling.

The final new track is another dark, excellent piece of ambience. With recitation from the Christian Bok novel Eunoia over orchestral cascades, “Vowels” is the reason why I bought the CD. “Eitttlane” fortunately does not feel like a tack-on just to get the time above twenty minutes as it too proves to be one thoroughly enjoyed in the darkest room with the sound turned up high enough to drown out the real world for a spell.

While A Quick Fix of Melancholy EP is certainly not what fans have been waiting three years for, it’s still a tasty little morsel Ulver has decided to throw under the table for us to happily lap up for the time being. But, like its name clearly indicates, it won’t be enough to fully satisfy, so we shall continue to sit and wait for them to return with the main course.