Anna Von Hausswolff Challenges Tradition in Latest Album “ICONOCLASTS”
Merriam-Webster defines an iconoclast as “a person who attacks settled beliefs or institutions.” On Anna von Hausswolff’s new album, ICONOCLASTS, she’s attacking the very concept of the traditional song structure, crafting grand arrangements that demand to be studied with your full attention.
The opening track, “The Beast”, starts as an eerie focal point for the album. In the first half of the track, it lures the listener into what seems like an ordinary instrumental song. Complete with various woodwinds and a masterful saxophone arrangement by Otis Sandsjö that seems to be building to something grand. Yet halfway through, it fizzles away to something ominous. These gorgeous woodwinds fade away and are overtaken by more industrial-sounding noises. Car horns, drums, and synths build to a crescendo that releases into quiet and calm.
Von Hausswolff’s work primarily features the pipe organ, which uses air to produce sounds through the pipes of the instrument.
“It’s an instrument you can never tire of,” said von Hausswolff in a 2018 interview with The National. “But it can be physically demanding. You are working with your hands and feet, and you have all these stops that you are pulling in and out to make flute sounds, or maybe trumpet sounds. If you are playing fast it’s like dancing – you have to move the entire body to make it work.”
It’s clear that von Hausswolff has mastered her craft after 15 years within the industry. Her ability to craft these long pieces that manage to remain fresh and command the listener’s attention for their entire length is on full display here. The album feels fresh and, at times, atmospheric. As if you are wandering through a deep, dark tunnel with von Hausswolff at the end, luring you in like a siren lures in sailors at sea. Her haunting voice lingers long after you hear it. It seems like only von Hausswolf could sing these songs.
Yet, there are quite a few features of artists that complement von Hausswolff exceedingly well. On Iconoclasts, Ethel Cain and Iggy Pop lend their talent to build upon the world that von Hausswolff has created here.
“The Whole Woman,” featuring Iggy Pop, changes the pace for the album and trades in the grand woodwinds for softer string instruments. The song is simpler than the others on the album, but it stands out mainly because of Iggy Pop, whose gruff voice juxtaposed against von Hausswolff’s soft, angelic voice, almost becomes an instrument in itself
“Aging Young Woman,” featuring Ethel Cain, touches on the subject of growing old, as the semi-oxymoronic name suggests.
“But we, getting older by the hour
Ooh, and every year, we have more fear
Ooh, that the dream of a family
Ooh, will slowly disappear.””
Throughout the song, von Hausswolff and Cain come to terms with the fact that they may never have children, as they continue to put it off. Their future is slowly disappearing, as they themselves state.
“I wrote it in a state of confusion and frustration of not being sure about wanting to build a family of my own,” said Von Hausswolff in an interview with Paper Magazine.
“Can I settle with the idea of not having kids? The general theme became bigger with time, and now it’s more about unfulfilled dreams, feeling stuck, and the unstoppable movement that is time.”
Von Hausswolff’s haunting songwriting is in full force here, with her ability to craft these gorgeous images that stick in your brain after the song is finished.
“In the church, when we cried
Some fallen angels told us to keep our heads high
But one said, ‘You will burn on the stake
In the crumbled chest of a kindness, your heart will break.’”
On the title track of the album “The Iconoclasts,” she shows off this ability to demand your attention over the 11-minute track. It sounds very much like an epic poem, similar to The Odyssey, and builds up like one, too. Building up pressure until finally, it fizzles away into an introspective final verse.
“So many dreams and so many bodies
So many faces all around
Following something, following people
Someone lonely gets left behind
Making up stories, fucking with evil
I’ll fuck everything up in my life.”
The song’s motif is abundance. Be it over-consumption of material possessions or the abundance of soldiers and dead children in the United States. The abundance of love, hate, and anger hangs over von Hausswolff through the song.
ICONOCLASTS as a whole is a hauntingly beautiful album that effectively captures the current state of affairs for von Hausswolff and so many others. Von Hausswolff’s mastery of composing is enough to tune in to the album. The soul-stirring lyrics and deeply moving features are enough to return it.
You can find it on streaming services and available for purchase on von Hausswolff’s website.