Daniel Avery – Ultra Truth

Daniel Avery’s Ultra Truth began its life as a sonic mood board back in 2018, when he published a Spotify playlist of the same name. Now spanning more than 2000 songs, it's an ever expanding insight into the brooding sounds that have made their way into Avery’s latest album, ranging from Mogwai’s thunderous, celestial reverb (Devotion) to Portishead’s forlorn vocals (Only) and the early rave ecstasy of Andrew Weatherall (Lone Swordsman).

The record is a bit slow to get going, and at times meanders into excessive atmosphere – next to The Slow's Bullet's ambient fuzz, the urgent jungle rhythms on Higher and Devotion in particular pop. But Avery is engaging with the art of the album as a sum of its parts, and from start to finish conjures a fantastical, dreamlike world. 

HAAI’s airy vocals drift beneath clattering drums in Wall of Sleep, as if heard through the haze of a waking dream. Squelchy percussion resembles dripping water in a cave on Collapsing Sky, while layered strings evoke spaciousness and a reaching out from the dark. The twinkling glockenspiel on Higher sounds positively starlit, as if we are surging upwards into the night sky, propelled by unabating bass. The impression we are left with is of forward motion. One by one, each track pushes on into a more hopeful place.

Listen to: Higher, Wall of Sleep, Only