Have you ever loved a band so much that they become a part of you? That everything you do is somehow inside their music? That just by listening to the music, you become lost in a world where nobody else can ever be? That’s how it is with me and Ultrasound.

First and foremost with any band has got to be the music, and with Ultrasound, that’s exactly what it’s all about. Music, music and more music. They’re all self-confessed music junkies, with Tiny’s record collection once numbering well over 2000 records (which have since been transferred onto tape and sold to buy cigarettes and amps). Just by listening to the debut album, Everything Picture, it’s plain to see how important music is to this band as the album is bursting with it. It’s literally so packed with music that it leaks out of the edges in places that you don’t notice until it’s too late. Album opener Cross My Heart is one of the best examples of this, with a wall of sound being constructed for the listener to hear. Building up through the effects pedals and keyboard sounds, it’s an explosive opener to the album. Live, it’s also the set opener and has much the same effect.

The ‘anthems’ would flood a valley if they were water. But they’re more than anthems, they’re a soundtrack to our lives, with the rallying cry of Stay Young, the optimism of Floodlit World and the desperation of Suckle creating tension, fear, love and unity. Live, these are the songs which move us to tears as the band mean every note, every word. You can see it in their eyes.

Yet it’s the other side to Ultrasound which sets them apart - the side which has earned them the "prog rock" labels. To some, their defining title track, Everything Picture, degenerates into nothing more than random noise, noise that hurts the ears but has no effect on the mind as it’s all too much. But to understand the beauty of Ultrasound’s chaos, you’ve got to be on their level, actually get inside the music and be carried away in its bubble. Concentrate on the feeling behind this music, feel the passion, the obsession which has the ability to take the listener into a different world, a different atmosphere. You can capture that feeling in the faces of the band - the complete absorption which comes with the "moments of syncronicity" which guitarist Richard Green holds so dear. And if you’re lucky, you might just experience those moments too. You won’t realise what this feels like until it actually happens, but as soon as it does, you’ll know. When life is nothing more than you, the band and the music, and everyone else at the gig has momentarily disappeared, that’s when it happens.

So why is it that Ultrasound don’t seem to sell any records? This week, Everything Picture entered the charts at number 23. Not bad, but not brilliant, especially when compared with Suede’s self-titled debut which went straight into the charts in 1993 at number 1, and sold 100 000 copies in just 6 days. The comparisons to Suede crop up time and again. To me, it’s because, like Suede before them, Ultrasound are creating something new, something exciting, something challenging. Musically, there are similarities as both bands enjoy virtuoso guitarists, with Richard even admitting to using ideas and riffs borrowed from Bernard Butler ("Who wouldn’t? He’s always been a hero of mine")

Ultrasound’s singles fare even worse than the album. Admittedly, they have spoiled things in the past for themselves by making singles unchartable, but for recent single Floodlit World, they did everything by the book - 2 cds each consisting of 3 medium-length tracks, adverts in the NME, accompanying interviews and Single Of The Week on the Evening Session. Yet it only went in at number 38. Why is this? Surely it isn’t the music, though some might claim to dislike Tiny’s voice. There are problems with the record company, Nude records, who are refusing to make Ultrasound tour merchandise, put hidden tracks on vinyl records when the band clearly don’t want them to be there, and, worst of all, editing their songs without their consent. When Richard discovered that the record company had edited the next single, Aire And Calder, at the video shoot for it, he went "fucking ballistic". As he says, "How dare they edit our song, our music that we’ve spent hours and hours and hours creating till it’s perfect?" It was then that he rang Saul Galpern (Nude Records boss) up and called him some names which aren’t printable. Why do people try to mould Ultrasound into something different? It can’t be done. They’re how they want to be, and nobody can change them.

However, the main reason for their lack of commercial success must be due to what’s built up in the press - the reviews and image created of the band. NME gave Everything Picture 6 out of 10, yet the words of the review felt like the album should be rewarded a much lower mark. I asked Richard about this and his response was: "To be honest, I wish they’d had the guts to give it a 2 or a 3. Then maybe people would buy it on account of its apparent crapness. I know I would." And with that, he’s summed it up. The NME just don’t have guts any more. They build bands up, only to knock them down again 6 months later when they’ve found the next big thing/Gay Dad, or when they realise that there isn’t going to be a big prog rock revival, that Ultrasound aren’t going to appeal to everyone and that, hey, maybe they were wrong. But instead of admitting this, they give the band negative publicity, bad reviews and interviews which focus on drugs and sex, without listening to what the band really has to say so that they make the band look bad rather than the publication.

How does the band feel about their lack of commercial success? Tiny feels "mostly frustration, and a bit of anger", and is currently relying on the record company to pay his rent. Richard is homeless at the moment, although this is partly through choice ("I quite like the idea that wherever I am, that’s the important place, the place that I should be").

The question on my mind is, where will Ultrasound be in 2 years’ time? Will they have persevered and succeeded, and be promoting that "difficult" second album, or will they have quietly faded into the background like so many other bands, while Tiny goes on to host arts programmes on Channel 4? I know that it’s in their nature to keep going. They’ve been playing in a band together, in various guises, for 10 years now, and they’ve experienced many failures. I believe that they must keep going and not give in. It’s still early days yet, and once they create a definite niche for themselves, they’ll be able to go on forever. Bands such as Dark Star seem set to follow in Ultrasound’s footsteps by writing long songs which will probably be labelled as either "prog" or "noisy", so they’re not alone. Besides, they’ve got to keep going because they believe in their music, and some of us do too.

What I cannot bear is when journalists focus on Tiny’s size. In the last two issues of the NME, the live review barely mentioned the music, rejecting it in favour of talking about Tiny’s weight, and the album review was accompanied by a cartoon of Tiny eating drummer Andy. Yes, Tiny is fat. Yes, he’s about 7 years older than most of today’s rock stars. But so what? How does it affect their music? What makes Ultrasound so special, so accessible, is that they’re all people like you and me. Having a conversation with Richard is as easy as chatting to your best friend. And what’s more, he makes you feel special and appreciated, more than just a fan. Getting to know Richard and the rest of the band, even just a little bit, has made me appreciate their music even more as I now realise that they are just ordinary people with extraordinary talents. They live in our world, and because of this, you realise just how romantic, poignant and inspiring they really are. At the gig I went to a few days ago, Tiny said to the crowd "The plan is not to be perfect. It’s to be yourself". What could be truer? So stay young, paint an everything picture, live the impossible dream, suckle their love, listen to the sentimental songs and remember that we’re in the same band. All of us.
 
 

29/04/99