01	Heatwave						08:37
	02	Chinavox						04:53
	03	Bruit Dans Les Murs						08:27
	04	The Funeral Plain						20:22

1987
Cuneiform Records
Rune 9 CD

Belgium 1986

1- HEATWAVE (8:34)
Andy KIRK

2- CHINAVOX (4:49)
Daniel DENIS

3- BRUIT DANS LES MURS (8:25)
Daniel DENIS

4- THE FUNERAL PLAIN (20:24)
Andy KIRK

LINE-UP

Daniel Denis - Drums, Percussion, Voice
Michel Delory - Guitar
Dirk Descheemaeker - Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Soprano Sax
Chrsitian Genet - Bass, Nailskake
Patrick Hanappier - Violin, Viola
Andy Kirk - Piano, Synthesizer, Voice
Jean-Luc Plouvier - Piano, Synthesizer, Voice

Recorded between June & September 1986 by Didier de Roos
at Daylight Recording Studio in Brussels, Belgium
Mixed by Univers Zero & Didier de Roos.
Additional Voice by Chantal Smets on CHINAVOX
Cover artwork by Marie-Noкlle Dufromont

Joe McGlinchey:
Interestingly, it is keyboardist Andy Kirk who takes over the reigns as main writer for this UZ outgoing. Opening with uneasy high-hat and steady, wary pacing, the title track slowly gathers momentum. Then, the band's trademark 'dry' melodies tumble unpredictably through different settings and cycles as if in a washer. Denis' "Chinavox," which by contrast keeps a constant rhythm throughout, is a cocktail of braying keyboards, cymbal crashes, and warbling electronic effects. The side-long "Funeral Plain," written "for all living hardships that lead into self-awareness," makes an epic of a closer, particular in its frenetic last minutes. Perhaps as exemplified in the harmonium being entirely supplanted by synthesizers by this time, one might argue that relative to earlier Univers Zero albums Heatwave compromises sheer macabre intensity for an increased feel of modernity, but still it remains a more than worthy entry in the band's canon.

Gary Niederhoff:
Univers Zero endures another shift in line up, with old members returning to mingle with more recently added members. I had a little '80s phobia about this release due to a review I read once, but was relieved to find the electronics tastefully incorporated into the chamber prog universe. Denis showcases himself well in the freaky "Bruit Dans Les Murs", which actually demonstrates how '80s synthesizers and production values can be used without sacrificing the band's unique sound. Andy Kirk's side-long "The Funeral Plain" is a tragic epic with plenty of swelling violin and piano which builds up to a passage so dripping with drama, its hard to believe they did it with no mellotron. The second half of the song is Univers Zero at their best, and ends with a dreary flourish which couldn't have brought an end to their musical output for the next 13 years any more dramatically. Everyone needs a Univers Zero album to violently wedge between UK and Van Der Graaf Generator in their collections, and since they all demonstrate the band's depth, diversity, and darkness, this one is as good as any to start with.







AMG EXPERT REVIEW: Heatwave is presumably the Univers Zero group finale, although rumors of a reunion have never entirely disappeared. On this recording, the transition from acoustic chamber music to electric rock is complete, and the somewhat uncertain steps of Uzed, Univers Zero's previous release, have become purposeful and confident. Almost all the Uzed musicians have returned for this date, together with Andy Kirk on keyboards and original Univers Zero violist/violinist Patrick Hanappier. Perhaps the only criticism that could be levied against the first three tracks on the CD is that they fall a little too comfortably into the prog-rock genre, although they compare favorably to the best (and darkest) of King Crimson. However, Andy Kirk's long final track, "The Funeral Plain," and is something else altogether, and demonstrates that the band was still capable of stunning originality. Kirk opens with some eerie alien raspings on synth, followed by high-pitched drones and then a quiet but relentless two-note piano pattern. Hanappier joins in with a pensive viola melody, as does Dirk Descheemaeker on clarinet and then Hanappier on violin. Denis and Genet weigh in with some ponderous unison drum and bass work, tension builds, the tempo increases, and then everything stops. The original alien scrabbling returns, except this time with a relentless, clock-like rhythm, new themes are introduced, and tension builds once more through the skilled use of unresolved chord progressions, continually changing key signatures and the ultimate wild wailing of synths and electric guitar. The tempo changes to a dirge, then staccato bursts, and finally subsides with the desolate sound of dripping water. Kirk dedicates this piece to "all living hardships that lead into self-awareness," and like the best of Univers Zero elsewhere, it transcends prog-rock or any other known musical form, and occupies a unique niche all by itself. - William Tilland