Ultraísta released their first single in eight years this week—an analog-drenched dancehall pop burner titled "Tin King.” The song showcases something incredible. The sharpened energy of a highly tenured trio coming together in a manner far more focused than their debut venture ever intended to be. Armed with this newfound precision, the band announced that their second album, Sister, is set to be released this March after 8 years of dormancy.
Ultraísta is the product of Nigel Godrich, Laura Bettinson, and Joey Waronker coming together in a more deliberate fashion than any of their previous collaborations. Nigel Godrich’s primary output has been behind the boards, serving as either producer or engineer on Beck’s Sea Change, Pavement’s Terror Twilight, R.E.M.’s Up, Gnarls Barkley’s Odd Couple, and every single Radiohead album since 1995. Godrich also served as a touring member of Atoms for Peace—an ensemble formed to tour songs off of Thom Yorke’s solo venture The Eraser, and where Godrich and Joey Waronker first came together. Waronker, a noted session and touring musician in his own right, boasts a resume that includes work with R.E.M., Roger Waters, Johnny Cash, and Elliott Smith. Finally, rounding out the trio is Laura Bettinson, a visual artist, designer, and musician who records under a variety of names, most notably the UK electronic power pop project FEMME.
Ultraísta's first project—a self-titled effort released back in October of 2012—can be seen as an attempt by each of the three members to reach something wider than what their respective niches currently allow them. What transpired was an incredible balance between the talents of the three members .This isn’t a Nigel Godrich album, nor is it a FEMME album with a different backing band—instead it’s something that took on a new life apart from each of their respective catalogs. The album presented itself as more art than pop, with heavy inspiration from Afrobeat artists Hugh Masekela and Fela Kuti working their way in between the woven layers of noise. Truly speaking, the album’s looser style holds it back at points, resulting in its true peak coming from the remixes done by the likes of Four Tet, CHVRCHES, and Floating Points.
“Tin King” brings what Ultraísta started in 2012 to another level. The track opens with a strobing bass line backed by the blended clatter of acoustic rim rattling and a dominant electronic bass. Bettinson’s vocals spin amongst themselves as the song perpetually finds new space to grow into—carried primarily by the evolution of Godrich’s synth-patching. The track as a whole has a remarkable sense of momentum—as Godrich’s sound-building progresses, the constant drive of Bettinson’s choral chanting manages to push the both of them to the top without fail—like a runner charging into ever-increasing winds. A massive step forward from the looser rhythm and abstract motifs of their self-titled debut, “Tin King” sets the groundwork for an album that could be a dark horse contender for one of the strongest statements this year on the tenacity of the overlap between electronic music and pop.
