Way back in 1857, when Baudelaire published his poetic denigration of Parisian excess and opulence, Les Fleurs du Mal, he could not have had the faintest concept of what his work would one day mean to artists occupying the left field of musical expression. From record labels to individual songs, to lyrical inspirations to album names, the presence of this erotically-charged anti-celebration of decadence has been felt almost everywhere. The latest of these, Ulver’s Flowers of Evil, is a suitable homage, dealing too with unpopular themes and antisocial sentiments, all tied together in a neat package of apocalyptic pop par excellence. The descriptor I just applied – apocalyptic pop – is but one of the masks Ulver wears; over the years, I’ve heard this Norwegian outfit described as dark electr...
