Jenny Hval – Iris Silver Mist

Norwegian jack-of-all-trades Jenny Hval has already written several successful novels, originally comes from Gothic

Metal, and has been on the more electronic/spherical path solo for a long time. In a tradition that hangs somewhere between Kate Bush and Laurie Anderson, she knows how to situate her synth sounds high in the Norwegian fjords. Iris Silver Mist is her eighth solo album and continues where her previous Classic Objects left off. It seems as if she retreats further into the far North with each album and increasingly seems to seek out the essence of the Norwegian cold and loneliness. It is not without reason that the album is named after a perfume, as if Hval has tried to capture the presence of scent alone. The entire album was therefore first played as a performance art performance, before a single note of music was recorded. Smell also played an important role during that performance. She herself indicates that this way of approaching has given her back her enjoyment of music. Many songs don't even reach two minutes and are more of a fragment than a song, like a quickly fleeting phenomenon, while others are drawn out to a climax. Her whispering, pure voice completes the dreamy sound. Certainly as a whole, this work is more of a work of art than an album, but even for those who have to make do with the sound alone, this is a special experience.