Hi, everyone. Futhany Teague Tano here, the internet's busiest music nerd. It's time for a review of this new ugly ERP, Twice Around the Sun. Ugly? What if someone said that about you? How would you feel? All right, all right, all right. Well, this ERP over here is the latest from this fresh up and coming band out of the UK who I caught wind of via some impassioned recommendations in the chat of a recent stream, and I can see why the group is turning heads. In one breath, I think you can consider them a part of the growing wave of Prague-adjacent indie and art rock bands that have been going crazy across the pond. But simultaneously, I wouldn't exactly liken ugly here to a Black Country New Road or a Black Midi or a squid, especially with ugly's emphasis on folk instrumentation, as well as intricate group vocal harmonies and passages. Many of which remind me of some of the earliest and quaintest recordings of groups like Fleet Foxes or Dirty Projectors, but then progress that into a harrowing dissonant whirlwind of twisted guitars and strings. And then in true prog fashion, once you get the momentum going, evolve it a few times over from there through sections that lean more rock, lean more folk, but ultimately come to a grandiose conclusion.

But yeah, there's something really cultish but also bright about the band's music that reminds me of a film such as Midsummer to a degree. And I don't point that out to say that there's something unsettling beyond the surface of ugly. I point it out to say that there's something ritualistic and spiritual about at least a few tracks here, which I think is also exemplified by the track Shah, whose central refrain revolves around the Buddhist phrase Namiyo-ho-reng-e-kyo. Although I wouldn't necessarily take the band incorporating this into their song as a sign of them attempting to reach a higher as the Sha, Sha, Sha refrain also on the track go Sha, Sha, Shut Up. The lyrics of the track beforehand set up a story about somebody who's almost using their experience and their surface level knowledge of religious philosophy to, I don't know, talk down to someone else or act like they might know better for you. The music backing all of this, of course, is some very folksy slacker rock with some trippy cycling guitar leads spinning underneath it, which ultimately end up being pretty entrancing. Following this on the ERP is the track Icy Windy Sky, which follows a formula similar to the opener, but it works again.

Between the vocals and guitars, we get what feels like the pretty winding psych prog of a band like Grizzly Bear. But then it builds up from there into something very dark and cinematic and storybook. There's something quite zany and colorful about it, too, that reminds me of artists such as Richard Dawson. But there's a tightness and attention to detail that the executes on the instrumental side that feels very specific to them, especially with all the arranged vocals and instrumentation coming out so fantastical. The music is just as evocative as the lyrics on the track because as I'm listening to it, I feel like I'm in the midst of a storm. I'm trying to batten down the hatches. Also, I appreciate the bit of wordplay going on in the lyrics on the track, given that the lyrics are I see Windy Sky, the title I see Windy Sky. Next on the ERP is Shepher's Carol, which is like a bluegrassy piece of progressive folk rock, which is not usually my bag, especially with the synthesizers laced into the mix in the way that they are. But in this specific instance, I really like it. It's hidden in all the right ways.

The vibe is feel good, it's cheery, it's fun, and the lyrics are absolutely outlandish a lot of the time. Though I will admit the four-wheel drive bits do make it sound like a car commercial. Though the screaming lead guitars and calls of, I'm going to kill, I'm going to kill at the very end would make it the weirdest car commercial I've ever seen. In the final moments of the ERP, the band decides to switch things up on the vocal side pretty boldly with some singing that is a lot more dour and borders more unspoken word. These sections I'm not as crazy about, though I will say in the second to last track, I do think they work in this sad, swagged way that appeals along the lines of a King Cruel or maybe even a Julian Casablankus. I like the character portrait the track is pulling together as it describes a guy who is just wallowing in bitterness, living in the past, someone who struggles as he strives. And the entire track really reaches a pinnacle of mental and emotional exhaustion at the very end. The closing track, though, I will say, is the longest on the entire ERP, and it certainly feels like it.

Not because the band is taking too long or anything like that, but it's various switch-ups across the track don't really link up all that fluidly or cohesively. The various sections the track just come across to my ears as disjointed, and as a result, I'm just sitting here waiting for when all the momentum that's being built up is it going to carry over into a finale that actually hits hard. The answer, in my opinion, is not really. However, I understand the difficult balancing act that any band is going to be on when they're trying to develop tracks with this many phases within them. And even if this ERP started a lot stronger than it finished, I still walked away from it. A low-key blown away because, again, even though this thing is technically labeled as an ERP, the band is certainly approaching it with the ambition of an album. From the instrumental builds to the vocal arrangements to the storytelling, they're really holding nothing back. And honestly, I'm pretty psyched to hear what ugly is going to do from here. That's why I'm feeling a light to decent eight on this ERP. Transition. Have you given this project a listen?

Did you love it? Did you hate it? What would you rate it? You're the best, you're the best. What should I review next? Hit the like if you like. Please subscribe and please don't cry. Hit the bell as well. Over here next to my head is another video you can check out. Hit that up or a link to subscribe to the channel. Anthony Fantano, ugly, forever.