Modern English Decoration is the second album from London-based rock band Ulrika Spacek. It is being released by Tough Love Records and is the follow-up to debut The Album Paranoia. The band decided to record, produce and mix their latest release in their shared house, which they have given the name KEN. The location is not just a home but a creative art space where the five-piece band develop their music and define their own brand of shoegazey alt-rock.
Opener Mimi Pretend is a buoyant and elevating tune and also the lead single from Modern English Decoration. Throughout the track, heavy vocals labour to be heard over reverb heavy guitar riffs and a restrained drum beat. Lyrics and wordplay are not the focus of the band; instead the vocals are present to add to the atmosphere of the music and provide a melody for the listener to grab a hold of. This approach is present in all the tracks on the record and is effective throughout. At times the hazy vocals add to the anxiety and fragility of the song, such as in Silvertonic and Ziggy, where the music feels edgy and deeply haunting.
Modern English Decoration is the kind of album that should be experienced in a live space. The reverb and echoing guitars and the atmospheric sounds create an expansive noise that will make any listener want to go out and see the band in a live setting, preferably in a small dingy club with the volume turned up to an ear-ringing maximum. The sound evokes Daydream Nation-period Sonic Youth or even a less poppy Brand New at their loudest.
The warped tone of Modern English Decoration, set from track one, continues throughout the duration of the ten-track album. While this serves to provide cohesion and unity to the album, a change of pace and delivery may have presented a more rewarding listening experience. The title track does offer a change in tempo, but by the time the album reaches its conclusion Modern English Decoration already feels a little predictable, with closing song Protestant Work Slump continuing the distorted sound the band has established. All in all, however, the record proves that KEN is an exciting and creative art space and a location in where fascinating and edgy music can be made.