In the realm of recorded sound, creative eccentricity can often be a difficult trait to reconcile with any commercial aspirations that the artist or band in question might possess. Though there has certainly been a long string of sonic iconoclasts who've ascended to best-seller status in spite—or perhaps because of—their unrestrained oddness, there've been countless more who ventured a little too far into the realms of the obscure, alienating the large audience they may have been banking on.
Late '90s art-rock wunderkinds Ultrasound were, it would seem, one such band. Though by no means the only group of noise-rockers in the post-Britpop landscape to fuse grandiose rock'n'roll bombast with overtly experimental overtones, they were alone in the extremes to which they took such aspirations. Hitting shelves back in 1999, Everything Picture—their wildly ambitious, unapologetically eccentric debut—was the inaugural declaration from a band that were, in their moment, hotly tipped.
Though nothing if not daring, it isn't massively difficult to see why Everything Picture stalled commercially; a hundred-minute-spanning collection of eleven often unwieldy songs—including a forty-minute title track (albeit one understandably edited to fit the constraints of the vinyl release's final side)—none could deny that Ultrasound were out to make an impression with their first offering.
Ultimately, though, such grandiosity might well have been the act's undoing; Everything Picture does feel an awful lot like hard work at times—its songs are lengthy to the point of indulgence and there're a lot of them. In fairness, though, the band perform with such visceral gusto that it's hard not to get swept up in the passion of it all. If perhaps divisive by nature, Everything Picture is in a very real sense the epitome of a cult classic. Is it daring? Undeniably. Is it eccentric? You bet. Is it accessible? In no way, shape or form. But, for those so inclined, the hard work of getting to really know this uniquely beguiling record is likely to be rewarding in itself.
At any rate, Ultrasound's doubtless-passionate devotees are in for a treat with One Little Independent's sumptuous deluxe edition reissue of Everything Picture—an expanded edition far greater in scope than the kind of reissues that plenty of far better-known albums receive.
As with the album's 1999 release, the original record is spread over two discs, but, where that pair of LPs represented the full scope of the album's original vinyl issue, this expanded edition comes coupled with a further two records comprising assorted B-sides and singles. In addition to that, a further selection of rarities have been added to the package as a CD offered in a slim card sleeve; for newcomers to the curious world of Ultrasound, One Little Independent's reissue of Everything Picture surely represents as thorough a deep-dive into their catalogue as any could possibly ask for.
Long term listeners, meanwhile, will no doubt revel in the sheer convenience that has come with the first-time collation of the band's previously disparate B-sides. The records themselves prove to be as much of a pleasure; four weighty, sturdily-pressed slabs of black wax, they play well with, in the case of our copy, no noticeable surface noise and low noise floors which make for uninterrupted playback. They're also visually appealing, sitting flat on the platter during playback and boasting lustrous surfaces.
Presented in an attractive cardboard slipcase, One Little Independent's chosen method of presentation for their Everything Picture re-release is certainly aesthetically pleasing. Both the original album and the B Sides & Singles compilation are presented in separate non-gatefold, wide-spined covers wrought with a matt finish. The records are also found in diecut custom cardboard inner sleeves, a touch which further affirms the sheer care put into this release's packaging. Rounding off the package is a handsome LP-sized booklet, featuring exclusive liner notes, a welcome touch which does much to place the album in the broader context of its moment in time.
A divisive and daring declaration of uncompromising artistry, Everything Picture certainly isn't an album for everyone—but, in fairness, it was surely never intended to be. If nothing else, Ultrasound crafted a genuinely audacious record here and, for that fact alone, it seems only fitting that it should be commemorated with such a genuinely sumptuous deluxe reissue.
