Eivør – Enn

Label: Seasons of Mist          release: June 14, 2024

The singer / songwriter Eivør from the remote Faroe Islands has definitely created her own style which rather evokes a relationship with Kate Bush or Björk, rather than Myrkur or Kati Rán or other solo artists linked with the Goth scene. Difficult to pin down genre-wise – but it’s no mystery why ENN marks Eivør’s debut for the metal label Season of Mist, because many (former) Black Metal acts do deliver atmospheric cinematographic sound spheres.
The spectrum here ranges from tender atmospheric sounds and a straight radio Popsong (Hugsi Bert Um Teg) to classical piano (Purpurhjarta), Nordic Folk (title track “Enn”) and almost Black-Metallic “Upp Úr Øskuni”. And it all is so damn intense and somewhat catchy despite in its exotic appeal.

A lot of variety which mirrors the artist’s career:
Often considered to be one of the most prolific and unique Nordic artists of her generation, Eivør has released 11 studio albums to date, crossing musical genres and always pushing the bounds of the expected. As a young teenager, Eivør was immersed in the tight-knit local music scene, playing with 20-something musicians in jazz bands as well as rock bands influenced by Portishead, Radiohead, Massive Attack, Sigur Rós and similar acts. By 16, Eivør released her debut solo collection of Faroese-sung folk-pop. One year later, she left home to study classical singing in Reykjavík, Iceland—soon winning two Icelandic Music Awards for her sophomore album. She spent the ensuing years living in Copenhagen and building a career playing folk festivals, but by 2010, Eivør was ready for a change. Her daring Larva album eschewed the folksiness of her previous work for experimentation and electronics.

Awarded with the Nordic Council Music Price in 2021, Eivør’s musical journey continues to fascinate. In recent years, Eivør has composed extensively for film, television and games (The Last Kingdom, God of War) and the cinematic structures of those scores found their way in alongside the music’s propulsive beats, omnipresent rooting in Faroese folk, and the classical flourishes of her opera training.

Most of the lyrics, sung entirely in Faroese, were penned in collaboration with the Faroese poet Marjun Syderbø Kjelnæs. “I felt I was making a concept album, in a sense, about the Earth, about our home, our planet. Then it developed into both nature but also human nature—both the outer and the inner landscape, and the struggles of the heart, the struggles between the Earth and humans.”

Tracklist
1. Ein Klóta (5:44)
2. Jarðartrá (4:47)
3. Hugsi Bert Um Teg (3:25)
4. Purpurhjarta (4:27)
5. ENN (7:11)
6. Lívsandin (4:35)
7. Upp Úr Øskuni (5:01)
8. Gaia (5:10)