28 • UNCUT • OCTOBER 2019
ONhersixalbumsto
date,Norway’sJenny
Hvalhasrantedand
ruminatedacross
a broadspectrum
ofgenderpolitics,
religion,patriarchy,
menstruation,sexualisedfemalebodies,
“capitalistclit” and“softdickrock”. He r
sonicexplorationshavebeensimilarly
promiscuous,expandingherindieelectro-
folkpalettewithwildswervesintoavant-
metal,noise-punk,freejazzandmore.
Likea post-laptopPattiSmith,herstream-
of-consciousnesslyricsareoftenrawand
rudeandbristlingwithcarnalenergy.
Andherwildinterdisciplinaryliveshows
aresomethingelseagain,occupying
a performance-artspacesomewhere
betweenPeachesandCindySherman.
ButHvaldialsdowntheart-punk
attitudeonherlatestalbum,steppingback
fromviscerallustanddisgusttomapout
a morecontemplativemidlifeoverview
ofintimacy,empathy,socialconnection
andfemalecreativity.Blendinghervocals
withspoken-wordcontributionsfrom
variousfriendsandfellowartists– Vivian
Wang,FéliciaAtkinsonandLauraJean
Englert– shecreatesa communalchorus
ofnarrators,a slyshiftawayfromthe
egocentricfocusthatdrivesmostsinger-
songwritermusic.
Moststrikingly,ThePracticeOfLove
relocatesHval’sfebrilestylisticwanderlust
firmlywithina moresoothingenvelope
ofripplingsoftsynthsandpulsing
trance-poprhythms.Thismellifluous
makeoveris partlya self-consciousretro-
ravehomagetotheEurodancesound
that Hval only experienced tangentially
inheryouth,butalsopartlya fruitful
repurposingofthatunderrated,oft-
deridedgenre’swarm-bloodedemotional
charms.ThedistantechoesofRobynand
thePetShopBoyshereareasdeliciousas
theyaredeliberate.
AcollaborationwithWang,opening
number“Lions”setsthewidescreentone
withitssoaringoverviewofa majestically
lovelynaturallandscape.Oversurging
electrothrobsandsquelchypercussive
chatter,a coollydetachedLaurieAnderson-
stylenarratorcalmlycataloguesthedivine
beautyofthetreesandrivers.“Where
is God?”shemuses.“Thisplacedoesn’t
know,thisplacedoesn’tcare...”Is celestial
Humanistgospeltrancetechnoa genre
yet?If not,Hvaljustinventedit anyway.
Settoa gauzy,gorgeous,gliding
machinepulsethatrecallsTheOrborThe
Belovedintheirearly’90sprime,“High
Alice”museswrylyonthereputationsof
female artists across history.“She reaches
backthroughcenturiesofold,” Hvalcoos
overwarm,brassyinstrumentaltextures.
Themusicalhinterlandhereis soBalearic,
youcanpracticallyhearwavescrashing
softlyonthebeachasit fades.
Theshimmeringgallopof“SixRed
Cannas”andthebreezytumblesof“Ashes
ToAshes”soundlikelostclassicsfrom
StEtienne’simperialphase,escapist
dance-popthatcannotquiteconcealits
brainyadultanxieties.And“Accident”
mustsurelybethemostsublimesongever
writtenaboutthebittersweettrade-off
betweenchildlessnessandmotherhood,
itsconversationalmusingswashedalong
byswooshingsyntharpeggiosandrolling
beats,allbuildingtowardsa radiant
climaxofcrystallinefolkyharmonies.
Althoughthissynth-driven,trance-
adjacentformuladominatesThePractice
OfLove, noteverytrackis shoehornedinto
itssleek,syncopatedparameters.Hval’s
arty,punky,spikysideis smoothedand
submergeda little,butneversuppressed.
Evenatitsmostunapologeticallylovely,
thisis dance-popwitha sharpeyeand a
keenmind.
“Thumbsucker”,whichfeatures
AtkinsonandEnglert,hasmoreofa jazzy,
lullabyfeel,itsfolksydreamnarrative
deliveredina breathywhisper.Andthe
titletrack,withEnglertandWangon
board,foldswarmelectronicdrones
arounda multi-voicepatchworkof
meditationsonloveanditsproblematic
linkswithreligiouspuritanism,social
heirarchyandmore.Asthevocalbuilds
froma singlepoeticmonologuetoa
polyphonicswirlofcompetingvoices,the
dissonanteffectis oddlyharmonious,like
a rogueflockofpodcastsflappingaround
eachotherinmid-air.
Justeighttrackslong,ThePracticeOf
Loverisksbeingdismissedasa minor
entryinHval’scanon,especiallyby
scholarlycriticswhoequatedissonance
anddissentwithhighartisticseriousness.
Butforanyonewhoenjoysa dashof
shimmeringdiscohedonismwiththeir
feministtheory,orwhosimplyharbours
a lingeringrespectforthesun-drenched
joyof’90strancetechno,thisalbum
offersa richlyrewardingdialogue
withmainstreampop.Crucially,Hval
understandswellthestrange,seductive,
subversive potency of “cheap” music.
JennyHval“I was feeling
veryelevated”
Whatdoyourguestvocalists
bringtoThePracticeOfLove?
Theybringtheirwonderfultextures,
timbres,personalities,sensibilitiesand
vocalghosts.Theyalsogavemethe
opportunitytocomposedifferently,
assomeofthesongswerecomposed
afterI hadheardtherecordingsthey
did.Theydidmostofit asspoken-
wordrecordingswithoutknowing
wherethealbumwouldendup.
What does that ’90s trance-
technosoundmeanto
youpersonally?
Twothings:late-nightTVandfalling
asleepwhilethinkingI wasvery
elevated,andthecultureofdriving
aimlesslyaroundin Norwegiansmall
towns.I guesseverylanguagehas
a wordforthismeandering,aimless
activity.Wecallit toråne, whichalso
meansboarin mylanguage.
Youhavehintedatsomelink
betweenThePracticeOfLove
andValieExport’s 1985 film
ofthesamename.What’s
the connection?
Kindofonlythetitle,whichI likeda
lot.ButI lovethefilmtooandhowit
createsthisalmostcubistviewof
themodernhuman/bodythrougha
brokenlensofmanydifferentgazes.
Is it trueyouhavea memoir
comingoutsoon?
No.ButI havea novel,whichis
hopefullycomingoutsoonin English.
Somemightthinkthisis a memoir,
butit’snot.It hashada greateffect
onthisalbumin thatI startedwriting
thembacktoback.NewMexico
appearsin both,aswellasmagic.
INTERVIEW: STEPHEN DALTON
Q&A
NEWALBUMS
JENNY HVAL
ThePractice Of Love
SACREDBONES
8/10
Nordicart punkdivatakesanentrancing detour into ’90s
rave nostalgia. By Stephen Dalton
LASSE MARHAUG
SLEEVENOTES
1 Lions(feat.
VivianWang)
2 HighAlice
3 Accident
(feat.Laura
JeanEnglert)
4 ThePracticeOf
Love(feat.Laura
JeanEnglertand
VivianWang)
5 AshesToAshes
6 Thumbsucker
(feat.Félicia
Atkinsonand
LauraJean
Englert)
7 SixRedCannas
(feat.Vivian
Wang,Félicia
Atkinsonand
LauraJean
Englert)
8 Ordinary(feat.
VivianWangand
FéliciaAtkinson)
Producedby:
JennyHval,
LasseMarhaug
Recordedat:The
BestStudio,Oslo
Personnel
includes:Jenny
Hva l(sy nt h s ,
vocals),Vivian
Wang,Laura
JeanEnglert,
FéliciaAtkinson
(vo c a l s) ,A n j a
Lauvdal(synth),
EspenReinertsen
(saxophone),
LasseMarhaug
(electronics)
