ICONOCLASTS - Anna Von Hausswolff: Review
The singles predicted this shift in style, but they were all so good that I never had the chance to even be suspicious about it. "Facing Atlas" is the first of the singles to pop up on the record, and it's a great way to begin the experiment. The song sounds more like something you'd hear on a Susanne Sundfor record than what I expect from Anna. The beauty of its angelic chimes matches really well with a chapel-sized performance from Anna. Though her collaboration with Iggy Pop on "The Whole Woman" has its moments, it was another collaborative single that really stole the show. "Aging Young Woman" sees Anna teaming up with Ethel Cain, and it's a spectacular combination. The way they fit together both sonically and thematically helps bridge the gap between Anna's normal style and the different kind of darkness conjured by Ethel's brooding southern gothic flair.
Somehow, that isn't the end of the great singles. "Stardust" has a swelling, expansive instrumental that has only grown on me the more I hear it. The way it builds to a climax halfway through only to return to its more methodical poise and subvert expectations at the end is great. That brings us to what may be one of the best songs I've heard anywhere in 2025, "Struggle With The Beast." The song begins with three minutes of absolutely blood-rushing instrumentation. It serves as a completely intoxicating buildup to the opening verse, and the song never falters from there. The way it reintroduces the booming drums and searing sax alongside Anna's screamed vocals is just perfect. It's the album's dramatic peak, and I love everything about it.
That's the kind of scope that fans of Anna are accustomed to, and it's something she conjures among the deep cuts as well. The title track is a fittingly epic 11-minute parade, tearing down classical icons that have failed both big picture and specifically for Anna herself. It manifests in some fascinating lyrical diatribes, concluding with the song's final and longest verse, which is where it really all pays off. "Unconditional Love" is similarly dramatic with its harrowing calls of "Until we fall" stretching out into the furthest reaches of sonic space. This makes some of the instrumental cuts that aren't quite as sonically engaging feel a touch superfluous, especially as the album's runtime climbs beyond 70 minutes. It also makes some of the songs that take their time meandering even more, like "The Mouth" and "An Ocean Of Time," less interesting than they first appear to be.
Despite a runtime that feels like it could have been slimmed down a shade, ICONOCLASTS is a strong return from Anna. She's always dabbled in massive scope, here that applies to both her thematic ambitions to drag down the seemingly untouchable and also the searing instrumental moments that cut into many of these compositions. But in between, Anna is delving into territory that is more lyrically and musically intimate than ever before. In her endlessly capable hands, the record that results is revealing for long-time fans without losing the expansive sonic ambition that has always been an irresistible hallmark of her style. 8/10
For more singer-songwriters, read my review of Ethel Cain's Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You
