AMN Reviews: Univers Zero – Lueur (2023; Sub Rosa)

Just short of their 50th anniversary, avant-rock legends Univers Zero are releasing their first album in a decade. While the only remaining original member is drummer / keyboardist and founder Daniel Denis, the lineup has remained largely intact since the last release, with Nicolas Dechêne on guitars, Kurt Budé on clarinets, and Nicolas Denis on bass, percussion, and vocals. This is only a slight stripping down from five musicians to four.

One can divide the music of Univers Zero into two parts. From 1977’s 1313 to 1986’s Heatwave is their classic era, which is where you’ll find many fan-favorites including the epic Uzed. The band engaged mostly in acoustic, neoclassical arrangements with both high energy and high complexity. The tone was often dark and over time they incorporated more electronic instruments.

In 1999, the elder Denis reformed the band and it has been an on/off affair ever since. Still complex chamber rock, their approach was lighter, earning them the affectionate moniker “Happy Univers Zero.” Lueur is the latest from this phase of the band’s history.

I will admit to being much more of a fan of the previous era.* Uzed and Ceux du Dehors were formative albums for me. I have spent significantly less time with the post-1999 material. Having said that, it took several listens but I found Lueur to be…quite good. It is a grower, with my appreciation increasing with each listen.

Many of the chamber elements are replaced by rock elements, with Denis’ signature repeating patterns and variations on themes. There is also a pseudo-mechanical aspect to parts of some tracks (or some whole tracks), with machine-like oscillations and post-industrial rhythmic iterations. These passages add a healthy dose of experimentation to the mix. As examples, Axe 117, Sfumato (part 2), and Wavering are all excellent tracks – mainly performed by Denis – exploring the darker themes.

Even the pieces with bouncier rhythms are compelling due to their compositional elegance – catchy and playful, yet sophisticated. The longest track, Sfumato (part 1), even includes vocals. They are unobtrusive and only slightly offset the otherwise melancholy and haunting mood.

In short, this 11th studio album from Univers Zero is solid. It is likely to please long-time fans and is not a bad starting point for further explorations of the group’s discography.

Lueur will be released on November 22 by Sub Rosa.

* To be clear, I am absolutely not one of those who always gravitate toward a band’s or genre’s “classic” period. Case in point, I appreciate the output of modern-day Magma even more than that of the mid-70s.