Flowers of Evil

Released in 2020, Flowers of Evil represents the culmination of Ulver's transition into a sophisticated electronic pop entity, building directly on the foundation laid by 2017's The Assassination of Julius Caesar. Recorded between 2019 and 2020 and produced by Michael Rendall and Youth, the album strips away the sprawling experimentalism of their middle period in favor of tight, melodic structures and lush synth-wave aesthetics. The title references Baudelaire, signaling the album's preoccupation with the intersection of beauty and corruption. Musically, it features a heavy reliance on vintage synth textures, driving percussion, and the guest contributions of experimental stalwarts like Christian Fennesz and Stian Westerhus. The cover art, featuring a still from Dreyer's 'The Passion of Joan of Arc', underscores the record's themes of martyrdom and historical trauma. While it is their most accessible work to date, it retains the band's signature 'wolfish' darkness, positioning them as the premier architects of modern electronic noir.