Ahead of the album release on Friday, East-London based five-piece Ulrika Spacek are streaming their new record 'Modern English Decoration' in full online now.

The band are set to play a headline London show at The Lexington on June 14th as well as various other UK shows this June.

'Modern English Decoration’ is, in part, a play on an interior design cliché, whilst also referencing the Victorian house in which it was made. But while there’s an element of domesticity to the album’s creation, the themes that drive the songs are not that – reflecting an all too common sense of mid-twenties alienation, anxiety, alongside the comforts/ burdens of self awareness. Ulrika Spacek’s craft is purposely thought out and the result is a conscious decision. This album is designed to be a 45-minute commitment. 

Ulrika Spacek formed in Berlin in one night, when 14-year-long friends Rhys Edwards and Rhys Williams conceptualised ‘Ulrika Spacek’ and came up with The Album Paranoia as their debut album title. Moving back to London with the intention to record it, they were joined by Joseph Stone (guitars, organ, synths, violin), Ben White (bass) and Callum Brown (drums, percussion), ossifying into the five-piece they are now. The album was released soon after with little forewarning  and was accompanied by a year long, near-monthly club night called Oysterland that the band both curated and performed at. Less than 18 months later, the follow up arrives eerily fully formed, somewhat inevitably according to Edwards: "We started making this record as soon as we finished our first. Like our debut, we started with Track One on the album and went from there."
  
Unsurprisingly given the context of its creation, Modern English Decoration might be considered a companion piece of sorts to the band's debut LP The Album Paranoia. But there are crucial differences. Most notably, this isn’t the work of the Ulrika Spacek conceptualised by Edwards and Williams in Berlin – Modern English Decoration is the band as five rather than two people, and it shows. Those who have witnessed the intensity of their live show will instantly recognise the merits in this. The bass and drums provide a versatile anchor, at once soft, then aggressive, while the vocals drift woozily in and out, like druggy hindsight or skewed premonition. With three guitarists in the band guitars were always going to be central to the music, but what is less expected is the dynamic interplay between the trio that suggests a three-headed version of the Verlaine-Lloyd axis at the heart of Television. What’s more, the absence of reverb is integral, in part attributable to the ambience of the studio, but also a conscious decision in order to add focus.
 
Having recently supporting Slowdive & Wire on UK dates, Ulrika Spacek will be playing the following shows:
July 23rd - Zanne Festival, Nicolosi, Italy 
August 3rd - Kantine am Berghain, Berlin w/ The Men
August 4th - OFF Festival, Katowice
August 20th - Doune the Rabbit Hole, Doune, UK
August 27th - This Must Be The Place, Leeds, UK
Sept 15th - Levitation, Angers, France
 
'Modern English Decoration' tracklist:
1. Mimi Pretend 
2. Silvertonic 
3. Dead Museum 
4. Ziggy 
5. Everything, all the time 
6. Modern English Decoration 
7. Full of Men (youtube)
8. Saw A Habit Forming 
9. Victorian Acid 
10. Protestant Work Slump 

Links:
Pre-order 'Modern English Decoration'
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For more information please contact frankie@stereosanctity.co.uk / t. +44 7921 176502

Listen below: