An Investigation of Blood
October 8, 2016 3:25 PM Subscribe
Jenny Hval's new album "Blood Bitch" was released on 30 September. You can listen to it on Bandcamp. The official videos for "Conceptual Romance" and "Female Vampire" are up on Youtube. Hval discusses her new music: "I’m a vampire already… in that sense the vampire is always the human. When I write about it, the vampire is always me; and the vampire when you listen to a song is always you. We carry something dead with us."
Gabriela Tully Claymore, Stereogum: "When Hval announced Blood Bitch, she presented us with a brief artist’s statement and a video that asks: I wonder… do vampires menstruate? It’s a chicken-and-egg dilemma, an absurdist question designed to be unanswerable. Is this what being locked in language feels like? Having no vocabulary to explain whether or not vampires get their period? It brings up a perplexing point: If vampires feed on blood, if that’s what keeps them going, wouldn’t they be more inclined to hunt a woman on her period? Or would they be repulsed by her? Is it, as Hval pointed out to me when we got into the technicalities of it, “dead blood?” And by posing this question, Hval corners a very specific critique: that women are condemned for the same thing they’re celebrated for."
Suzie McCracken, The Quietus: "Blood Bitch, to me, is a palimpsest of ancient themes – menstruation, lunar cycles, nature, witchcraft – that are constantly vibrating against each other, and that don’t need to be centred around a character, or indeed, Hval, to make cosmic sense. They are part of a porous palette, rather than a collection of connatively dense symbols with things to teach us, like when saints hold stuff in cathedral friezes."
(Listen also: "Apocalypse, Girl" from 2015; read also: What is Soft Dick Rock? Jenny Hval Explains)
Gabriela Tully Claymore, Stereogum: "When Hval announced Blood Bitch, she presented us with a brief artist’s statement and a video that asks: I wonder… do vampires menstruate? It’s a chicken-and-egg dilemma, an absurdist question designed to be unanswerable. Is this what being locked in language feels like? Having no vocabulary to explain whether or not vampires get their period? It brings up a perplexing point: If vampires feed on blood, if that’s what keeps them going, wouldn’t they be more inclined to hunt a woman on her period? Or would they be repulsed by her? Is it, as Hval pointed out to me when we got into the technicalities of it, “dead blood?” And by posing this question, Hval corners a very specific critique: that women are condemned for the same thing they’re celebrated for."
Suzie McCracken, The Quietus: "Blood Bitch, to me, is a palimpsest of ancient themes – menstruation, lunar cycles, nature, witchcraft – that are constantly vibrating against each other, and that don’t need to be centred around a character, or indeed, Hval, to make cosmic sense. They are part of a porous palette, rather than a collection of connatively dense symbols with things to teach us, like when saints hold stuff in cathedral friezes."
(Listen also: "Apocalypse, Girl" from 2015; read also: What is Soft Dick Rock? Jenny Hval Explains)
Such is art.
I'm glad she's keeping with more interesting backing on this album, her dalliances with her vocals over techno beats were a bit worrying. She has such a unique vision that I think higher-resolution instrumentation benefits her style more than blocky simplicity.
posted by rhizome at 9:16 PM on October 8, 2016
I'm glad she's keeping with more interesting backing on this album, her dalliances with her vocals over techno beats were a bit worrying. She has such a unique vision that I think higher-resolution instrumentation benefits her style more than blocky simplicity.
posted by rhizome at 9:16 PM on October 8, 2016
My first thought when I read, "Blood Bitch."
posted by NoMich at 9:22 PM on October 8, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by NoMich at 9:22 PM on October 8, 2016 [1 favorite]
I've been a fan of Jenny Hval since Viscera. She's really remarkable. My favorite thing she's done so far has been her collaboration Meshes of Voice with Susanna K. Wallumrød, which is astonishing, but I haven't really listened closely to Blood Bitch yet. Looking forward to it!
posted by valrus at 8:36 AM on October 9, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by valrus at 8:36 AM on October 9, 2016 [2 favorites]
« Older Summer is coming | H₂0™ Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by oneswellfoop at 7:38 PM on October 8, 2016