Apocalypse, Girl
Sacred Bones Records
Jenny Hval is hardly what you would consider a conventional
feminist. The Norwegian singer-songwriter whose dark ambient nature often draws
comparisons to Chelsea Wolfe is back with her fifth record: Apocalypse, Now. On
this record Hval looks to challenge culture, gender norms, genitalia, feminism,
and what our role within all of these ideas is. Hval uses both spoken word and
singing to communicate these ideas.
The second track and single off the record, “Take Care of Yourself”
has Hval posing the question, “What does it mean to take care of yourself?” She
offers suggestions such as, “Getting laid? Getting paid? Getting Married?
Getting pregnant?...Shaving in all the right places?” As Jenny Hval works
though this question and these answers herself while scaling back and forth on
her guitar a droning but enjoyable note slowly creeps up higher into the
mixing. Hval also questions what human genitals are really for and how that
plays into the overall necessity to take care of yourself. Jenny Hval tackles
these large questions on human nature genuinely, creatively, and with the instrumentation
rather beautifully. Although she intentionally attempts to make the listener
uncomfortable, Hval seems to consider cunts and flaccid dicks so thought
provokingly that the listener cannot help but admire this fresh take on the
subject. The next track is the sarcastically titled, “The Battle is Over”,
where Hval laughs at the notion that because women are now major consumers in
the world that feminism is no longer necessary. Hval is sweet and endearing on
the track and the song serves as a nice way to lighten the mood.
“The Battle is Over” also serves as the first track to
provide evidence of Jenny Hval being a more than capable singer to her new
listeners. After a rather boring interlude of vocal samples, Hval moves into
the most exciting and climactic track on the album “Heaven”. On this track Hval
shows off a dynamic vocal range with lush instrumental composition. The song’s
electronic drums carry a groovy beat as Hval considers being 33, the same age
as Jesus Christ when he died, and what that means to her. Hval sounds angelic
as an elegant string section supports here vocals that drive the track. At the
song’s peak Hval’s voice is loud, thunder booms behind her vocals, and multiple
harps are being plucked at finger breaking speed creating a gorgeous cathartic atmosphere.
Tracks such as “Why This?”, “Angels and Anemia”, and “Sabbath” follow a similar
formula. Hval uses these ethereal backgrounds to support her fragile vocals for
a stunningly effective combination. The album closes with a ten minute drone
piece which is surprisingly rich even with Hval’s haunting vocal performance.
This finish, “Holy Land”, is a fitting conclusion because it allows Hval to create
a track that matches her mission of making the singer-songwriter genre more
dark, depressive, and uncomfortable.
For someone unfamiliar with Jenny Hval’s work this album may
sound esoteric. Jenny Hval is as honest a songwriter as you will come by so
that alone makes this project worth a listen. Hval’s views are blown up to
kingsize proportions and the atmosphere’s she creates matches her message. Hval
seems to be wading through her pool of thoughts with the listener. Hval is
unsure of herself and unsure of what the correct answer is but that is ok.
These instrumentals are pieces that are meant to be explored and slowly
interpreted. The songs sound like a fragile universe slowly unfolding along
Jenny Hval’s thoughts. All Hval asks is for you to dive in.
7/10
-
Tom K.
6/8/2015
Stream this album by Jenny Hval here: Apocalypse, Girl.
No comments:
Post a Comment