Anna von Hausswolff – Dead Magic

A frame is empty on the table
I wonder if a picture went within
it stands alone upon the table
an object with no sense of in between
so I take it with me to the station
to see if I can fill the frame back up
I’m instantly surrounded by a halo
because the frame comes with baggage-laden love

so I’m drinking coffee in a cafe
the clocks are singing that it’s night
I’m holding auditions for the picture
and waiting for the hopefuls to arrive
the frame is getting pretty restless
nothing likes loneliness for long
but you can’t just force things together
especially if they don’t have a bond

I left the frame with the cafe owner
if a picture comes along he’ll let me know
but it wasn’t my nest to open
so it isn’t my burden to let go
for every picture has a moment
a time that it will capture you inside
but all of my pictures have been broken
there are no pictures in my mind

 

Anna von Hausswolff – The Miraculous

So, at the beginning of the year I did a compilation post of my favourite stuff of the year preceding. The two final entries on it hadn’t been featured on Soundbergs, although Pridjevi subsequently got one, and now Anna von Hausswolff too… actually because these two albums have been the most heavily played of this year.

There’s a write-up about the album here which goes into some of the philosophy behind it, but doesn’t mention anything about a story running across the album, which I most certainly hear. Wonder whether that is me projecting? Serious resonance, anyway.

Musically, it’s heavy. Not in the Metal sense, though guitars get crunchy and beats get poundy in a couple of songs, Swans have been invoked when that happens. But its heavy because the organ sound is so intense, because Anna tells such a story that fits it perfectly, because of the images it conjures, because it actually has the ability to completely possess the soul when you give yourself up to this album. The word awesome is often used wrongly (i.e. people say ‘awesome’ when they mean ‘quite good,’ when the word is actually meant to refer to marvellous things that are also a little bit overwhelming, scary – its a biblical word, dammit!) but can and should be used right(eous)ly when describing The Miraculous. Not to mention the vocals, which aren’t afraid of pyrotechnics, but are always tasteful and appropriate.

You know how you wake up, and there’s a song in your head? Well, the other morning I somehow managed to wake up and have this entire album in my head. Impossible to describe something like that, although it’s also true that it is impossible to describe music anyway. The only description that matters is this: IFL this album.