Classic Objects - Jenny Hval: Review
Jenny Hval
is a Norwegian singer-songwriter who has attracted a cult like fanbase for her avant-garde art pop and chamber music infused style and unique lyricism. Since releasing her massively acclaimed breakout record Apocalypse, Girl in 2015 she has been on a run of albums released on Sacred Bones. Classic Objects is her first release on her new label, 4AD and follows the debut album of her side project Lost Girls last year.
Review By Lav:
As someone who is a writer, an art school grad, an occasionally pretentious music listener and most importantly a woman, I absolutely adore Jenny Hval. Her philosophical brand of self-reflecting and highly conceptual art pop consistently hits the right spots in nearly every element and has for over a decade now. Since I started full time reviewing in 2016 I have dished out a lot of praise to Jenny. Blood Bitch was high on my 2016 albums of the year list as was The Practice Of Love in 2019 and The Long Sleep was one of my favorite EPs of 2018. All the while I praised individual songs from these projects quite as much, or even more. Culminating in the lead single from this record landing on my singles of the year list last year and building up a lot of hype. If you've familiar with Jenny's sound and style of writing there is a lot worth diving into on Classic Objects but more than any of her other projects I think this one may come with the requirement that you're invested in her style and story ahead of time.
This record has 3 singles leading up to its release and I absolutely adore the first two. Jupiter was a great lead single that I loved then and I think I love it even more in this tracklist. It is full of vivid lyricism from Jenny and reaches its peak at one of the best hooks I think I've ever heard on a Jenny Hval song. The brash but still appropriately distant rush of instrumentation that backs her as she cries out "Jupiter call her" is a moment of beauty that hasn't gotten any less mystical since I first heard it. Year Of Love was the second single and it's the opening track on the album proper. It's one of the more accessible tracks here with catchy refrains that show off Jenny's unique lyrical style and gentle vocals without really diving into the deep end of her artsyness. Even beyond that it's just a very beautiful song that hides some genuine anguish in its lyrics after a proposal during one of her concerts makes Jenny's ask some pretty serious questions about her own commitments.
From the introduction on however the record isn't content with holding your hand anymore. American Coffee comes next and it's a six minute exploration of Jenny's past with a surprisingly large scope. We start with the events leading to her birth and work through explanations for many of the choices would go on to make. In the beginning the instrumental is pretty sparse even by Jenny standards but it lets her deliver her vocals over this very stable blanket of almost ambient like backing. There are splashes of percussion here and there until the song hits a bit of a dramatic climax and a bunch more instrumentation starts to rush in. Despite the very linear progression of the song it holds onto me pretty tightly with the vivid descriptions and clever art school metaphors and referenced worked in.
Cemetery Of Splendour is the other 7 minute cut alongside Jupiter and it's one of the most forward songs on the record even if it doesn't start out that way. It begins with these really great refrains over a watery bed of piano but when the song hits its climax this whole wall of instrumentation emerges out of nowhere. The moment where Jenny is crooning away the hook in the background while her own spoken words hang in the foreground is quite an attack on the senses and an extremely memorable moment. I was wondering if Year Of Sky was going to be some kind of companion track to Year Of Love but by comparison it's a much more sonically abstract song. In weird contrast to the however it has some of the albums most literal lyrics particularly in the first half which strikes a pretty interesting balance. I also love the jungle percussion and faded wandering synth lines in the latter half of the song.
The final big highlight for me was closing track The Revolution Will Not Be Owned which I like quite a bit and while there isn't necessarily much finality to it I do think it has the grandiosity to end the record off with. I love Jenny's considerations of what a Utopia should be and what it should mean and the track is just packed with memorable refrains throughout.
I'm a lot less crazy about Classic Objects which sees Jenny reminiscing on an artist she used to know who used her own hair to add an element of life into her paintings. It sends Jenny into this series of contemplations on herself as an artist which is by far the most interesting piece of the song. The music is much less engaging following another pretty linear development but without anywhere near as satisfying a conclusion. The little flashes of keys and what honestly sound like bongos don't really do much for the track and I think some of the shrill vocal lines are more annoying than charming.
Freedom was the third single and it's the only song on the album and the first Jenny Hval song in a long long time that I don't really have anything nice to say about. The lyricism feels more like generalizations on freedom rather than any actual experiences without it or realizations that result. The instrumental actually actively works to drag the song down rather than support it and I'm just really confused by all parts of it.
I don't think I'm as in love with Classic Objects as the previous few Jenny Hval albums, but that's only because she set the bar so high. This is still a fascinating record to break down but one that is equally enjoyable to waste away to. Her gentle vocals and short but memorable refrains haven't waivered and they pop up all over this record, making for a listening experience that can be either as relaxing or as intently contemplative as you make it. 7.5/10
