Anna von Hausswolff "All Thoughts Fly" (2020)

All Thoughts Fly

udgivet: Sep. 25, 2020

format: digital (7 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,85]

producer: Anna von Hausswolff, Filip Leyman

label: Southern Lord - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 1. "Theatre of Nature" - 2. "Dolore di Orsini" - 3. "Sacro Bosco" (officiel video) - 6. "All Thoughts Fly" - 7. "Outside the Gate (for Bruna)"

5th studio album by Swedish organist Anna von Hausswolff, who has now switched to the admirable label Southern Lord. The album follows 2½ years after Dead Magic (Mar. 2018) and it includes seven instrumentals, which have been created in a combination of live recordings and post-production with the addition of electronic instruments. The live element is Anna von Hausswollf on a large (German) baroque organ in Örgryte Nya Kyrka, Gothenburg, and the entire work is based on sensory impressions that von Hausswolff experienced in releation to her visit at the Parco dei Mostri, also named Sacro Bosco (and Villa delle Meraviglie), the remarkable 16th-century Baroque park in Bomarzo, Lazio, Italy, from which the front cover photo was taken with von Hausswolff in the mouth of the meter-high head L'Orco.

It's not an album where you find von Hausswolff looking for new paths - not that she needs to - her music is most original, kept in her well-known experimental, neoclassical darkwave. The simple post-production leaves the music quite bare, where you get a clear sense of the pompous power of the organ. These are progressive compositions that slowly indicate a beauty side by side with a darkness that both evokes a sensation of security but which also may be perceived as gloomy - completely in line with the history of the Baroque garden.

All Thoughts Fly is an almost peerless work and nothing less than Anna von Hauswolff's best to date.

Highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com, SputnikMusic 4,5 / 5, New Noise 5 / 5, 👍Pitchfork 7,7 / 10 stars ]

Anna von Hausswolff "Dead Magic" (2018)

Dead Magic
release date: Mar. 2, 2018
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]
producer: Randall Dunn
label: City Slang - nationality: Sweden

Tracklist: 1. "The Truth, the Glow, the Fall" - 2. "The Mysterious Vanishing of Electra" (live) - 3. "Ugly and Vengeful" (live) - 4. "The Marble Eye" - 5. "Källans återuppståndelse"

4th studio album by Anna von Hausswolff with new producer Randall Dunn builds on some of the same stylistic ingredients she revealed on her previous album, The Miraculous from 2015. The difference here, at a first listen, is the more lengthy compositions with two tracks above 10 minutes playing time and "just" 5 tracks in total, but it's also a collection of songs that sees the artist embrace elements from a huge variety of styles and genres. It's art pop, chamber pop, experimental rock, neoclassical darkwave and it's post rock, but without settling on one specific style - and that's a huge accomplishment as the end result - thanks to the original sound and the arrangements - is a very coherent yet extremely varied album.
The album was met by positive reviews, and once again places Anna von Hausswolff at the peak of her career with her so far finest release. What I really enjoy about this, is the inclusion of brighter and lighter pieces in her usually dark and sinister soundscape. It's not just the explorations of dark matter, but a journey through various musical landscapes that convey an uplifting sensation. Where her previous albums shared more with Diamanda Galás, she has now turned up more on her Kate Bush kinship - which really suits her sound.
Recommended.
[ allmusic.com, Mojo and Q all hand it 4 / 5, PopMatters and SputnikMusic 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Anna von Hausswolff "The Miraculous" (2015)

The Miraculous
release date: Nov. 13, 2015
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,48]
producer: Filip Leyman
label: City Slang - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 1. "Discovery" - 3. "Pomperipossa" - 4. "Come Wander With Me / Deliverance" (live) - 6. "An Oath" - 7. "Evocation" (live) - 9. "Stranger"

3rd studio album by Anna von Hausswolff is like the predecessor Ceremony from 2013 produced by Filip Leyman and released on the small independent German label, City Slang.
The Miraculous introduces Anna von Hausswolff more boldly as an experimental darkwave artist than her two previous releases did. At first, she came out as an alternative art pop and chamber pop artist, and then released the darker and more secluded Ceremony, which in a way was a bit of an almost religious hymn-based work with heavy use of the pipe organ, but it didn't contain the multi-faceted shape of art pop, experimental rock and neoclassical darkwave as common denominator. Here, she combines all styles into one melting pot, which both makes it a strong and original orchestrated work and at the same time launches her music through the classical barrier. Most boldly, it sounds inspired by the Dead Can Dance album Spleen and Ideal (1985) but it also makes me think of Mike Oldfield - the progressive patterns of elements taken from progressive rock and classical' music, and Jocelyn Pook - the classical experimental approach, as well as Greek-American neoclassical darkwave icon, Diamanda Galás. There's always the presence of an underlying sinister tone and a sensation of the unpleasant and unexpected next.
A first listen may not reveal obvious hits, and the album may not contain any traditional such, but it may grab you as an emotional journey through hidden layers of both mysterious darkness and utter beauty.
From my perspective, and without being truly great, this is clearly the so far best release by Anna von Hausswolff.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Anna von Hausswolff "Ceremony" (1995)

Ceremony
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 ]

Anna von Hausswolff "Singing From the Grave" (2010)

Singing From the Grave [debut]
release date: May 5, 2010
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,28]
producer: Henryk Lipp
label: Kning Disk - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 1. "Move On" - 2. "Track of Time" - 5. "Singing From the Grave" - 7. "Old Beauty / Du kan nu dö" - 8. "The Book"

Studio album debut by Swedish composer, pianist and vocalist [aka Anna Michaela Ebba Electra von Hausswolff [!] - the daughter of musician CM (Carl Michael) von Hausswolff and the sister to photographer Maria] is a chamber pop and art pop studio album, which sounds somewhat familiar, or building on inspiration from Kate Bush, Joanne Newsome and an American folk pop and singer / songwriter tradition in broad terms.
The album contains her debut single release, "Track of Time" but it doesn't really contain the obvious strong single standouts but sits somewhere in a vast landscape of well-known composers with a share of raw talent and lacking a bit when it comes to originality, imho. Anna von Hausswolff undoubtedly possess a voluminous vocal, which is why it's more than just ordinary - I just hope she will make it more evident that she has something extraordinary to offer.
[ Gaffa.dk 5 / 6 ]