Berlin’s neànder returns with their latest single Ultra, and if you’re not yet familiar with their potent cocktail of post-rock, shoegaze, drone, and sludge, this track is your invitation aural initiation. The band—three guitarists and a drummer, no bass in sight—crafts a rich, immersive sound that’s as heavy as it is atmospheric.
Ultra opens with a brooding, slow-burn build, each guitar weaving layers of echoing melodies that creep up on you, until the inevitable sludge-infused wall of sound hits like a slow-motion avalanche. The trio of guitarists masterfully balances beauty and brutality, letting the track swell and contract like a living, breathing entity. There’s an undeniable hypnotic quality here—shoegaze textures meet post-rock’s cinematic swells, all drenched in drone and sludge weight.
The drums, steady and deliberate, serve as the backbone to the swirling chaos, never overpowering but always driving the track forward with a kind of patient, menacing pulse. This isn’t a sprint; it’s a marathon of mood, the kind of track that pulls you deep into its world and refuses to let you surface until it’s done with you.
neànder has always excelled at crafting atmosphere, but Ultra feels like they’ve distilled their sound into something even more primal and urgent. It’s not about flashy solos or technical wizardry—it’s about creating an emotional landscape that you get lost in. Ultra is a slow-moving tidal wave, both crushing and cathartic, a testament to the band’s ability to blend post-rock elegance with the raw power of sludge.
For fans of music that’s as introspective as it is immense, Ultra is a must-listen—a dark, sonic voyage that lingers long after the final note fades.
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