A trio of inevitably unequal proportions,
Ultraista consists of London-based artist/singer-songwriter
Laura Bettinson (whose other musical endeavors include
Femme and
Dimbleby & Capper) and Los Angeleno session drummer
Joey Waronker (
Walt Mink,
Ima Robot,
Beck,
R.E.M.), along with the headline-stealing
Nigel Godrich -- longtime producer for (and sometimes designated "honorary member" of)
Radiohead. The easy and obvious comparisons (and the pre-release anticipation from
Radiohead fans) are readily borne out by the music on
Ultraista's self-titled debut, whose dense, dreamy matrix of buzzing synths, precise but bloodless drumming, digital stutters, and liquid clicks immediately recalls the similarly dominant textures on
The King of Limbs and, to a lesser extent,
Kid A and
Thom Yorke's
The Eraser. (
Waronker and
Godrich, who've previously crossed paths on projects with
Air,
Beck, and
Paul McCartney, among others, also play together in the
Yorke-led
Atoms for Peace.) That's not to underplay
Bettinson's contributions to the project, which, according to interviews, was conducted as a full three-way collaboration. Her vocals, while not always the most prominent element of a given track -- the clearest indication that this is undeniably a producer's record -- definitely help give the album its distinctive character, one which hearkens back to the '90s-era arty ennui of
Broadcast,
Stereolab, and early
Goldfrapp. Like those groups' singers,
Bettinson's presence here is human and personable but not overly demonstrative, equally able to step forward, on more melodically inclined pieces like "Bad Insect," "Static Light," and the bewitching "Smalltalk" (not coincidentally, the same three cuts that were made available prior to the album's release), or to blend into the shimmering expanse of sound, as with the drifting, incantatory fragments permeating "You're Out." As a collection of songs, and particularly as a "pop" record (inspirations for the group reportedly included
Rye Rye and
Whigfield, which seems far-fetched at best),
Ultraista feels a bit unfulfilled, but as a work of sound and atmosphere, it's captivating, predictably excellent work worthy of attention not only from fans of
Godrich's better-known buddies (and especially those who might have found
The King of Limbs to be slightly too distant or understated), but anyone with an interest in the still-fertile interstices between atmospheric electronica and indie rock. ~ K. Ross Hoffman
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