Sometimes, if something’s gone, it really should be consigned to history. The Drybrough Cup and white dog poo a couple of the more obvious examples. However, Glasgow 4-piece Ursula Minor never ever really got started - one of the better acts to play the T-break tent at T in the Park, they seemed to follow this acknowledged stepping stone to stardom by vanishing without trace. Now, and it may well be 5 years later, they’ve resurfaced. Sounding a bit different than I recall - surely there was a slight Joy Division element to their sound? - their debut EP finally brings us and them to the present day. And it’s all very postmodern - ‘Westphalia’ is a krautrock bop - instrumental of course, and a fine start. ‘Send City Down’ is different, with churning bass and a slightly trippy feel - you can imagine this being the Factory Records blueprint rather than generating hundreds of Crispy Ambulance clones, had Ian Curtis and pals had been on E rather than simply living in Manchester in the 70s. However, those beats are dark industrial dance beats topped by vocals from a tunnel; it’s not the cheeriest of sounds. ‘Sick Fuzz’ probably never summed up a tune better by its title, with bass that makes the listener naueous to the pit of their stomach, as the band perform at the bottom of the well of your soul with Mary Chain vocals and Stereolabby squeaky keys. ‘Two Past Weeks’ is different again, a mess of rhythm units and a genuine pop tune in the My Bloody Valentine vein - and yes, I am making way too many comparisons to other acts. ‘Laudanum’ however defies categorisation, a hellish nightmare of a tune, with sparse rock synths and a tantric groove which threatens to engulf the listener before looping round on itself, speeding up and kind of coming full circle with some electronic beats. It seems very odd to be congratulating this lot on their debut, but it’s good to have them back.
//Calum Craig