release date: Jul. 18, 2012
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,36]
producer: Filip Leyman
label: City Slang - nationality: Sweden
Track highlights: 1. "Epitaph of Theodor" - 2. "Deathbed" - 4. "Goodbye" - 6. "Epitaph of Daniel" - 8. "Liturgy of Light" - 11. "Sova" (live) - 12. "Funeral for My Future Children"
2nd studio album by Swedish artist Anna von Hausswolff contains 13 tracks and its running time is just above the hour. Stylistically, it's a rather different release than her two year old debut as it builds on repetitive simple patterns of neoclassical origin. It's still touching on the art pop of her former release but here in an ambient pop style and the most significant change is its quite sinister sound, which has led to label it as neoclassical darkwave, and combined with the ambient and slow, progressive compositions it becomes almost meditative. Several songs are build around the pipe organ [referenced in the cover] and with bold use of echo / delay effects on both vocals and other instruments, it sounds as if recorded in a church.
It's not an immediate favourite of mine, but Anna von Hausswolff sounds like she's directing her music to a summoning of some holy or unholy nature, and she also presents compositions that build on classical formulas and yet sound quite unique, although, I find that it builds on music by Dead Can Dance, as well as neoclassical, artist Jocelyn Pook, and as contrary to her debut, this is a much stronger original piece of art.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5 stars ]
