Anna Von Hausswolff - "Dead Magic"

I became aware of Anna von Hausswolff a few years back, mostly because I just love gloomy singer/songwriters and I'm always interested in hearing more.  But I certainly had some reservations about her 2010 debut EP "Track of Time".  This EP had some really great, bluesy moments, tracks like "Something Is Missing" and "Pills" showed Anna to be seriously tortured deep down.  But tracks like "Track of Time" just seemed so middle of the road.  Anna, however, followed this up later that year with her "Singing From the Grave" album.  A lot of the same songs showed up here like "Track of Time" and "Pills".  But overall, I enjoyed Anna's performances more on here.  Songs like "Lost At Sea" and "Singing From The Grave" just made Anna come off so tortured.  But at the same time, so many of her performances here seemed so heartfelt.  Now so far, I hadn't been completely blown away by an Anna Von Hausswolff album, but that's exactly what happened with 2012's "Ceremony".  This album was a radical change for Anna, trading in her guitar for a Pipe Organ and some heavy Ambient roots.  This album was highly experimental, and showed Anna pushing herself into some Ambient music directions with tracks like "No Body" and 'Epitaph of Theodor".  Not only did she toy with these sounds, she knocked them out of the park completely.  But at the end of the day, she remained a seriously compelling singer with tracks like "Red Sun".  Anna may have always sounded tortured since day one, but "Ceremony" brought in the atmosphere that was missing for years.  Anna kept with this much larger and darker sound with "The Miraculous" in 2015.  This was a much shorter, and much more concise album overall, with hulking tracks like "Discovery" and "Come Wander with Me/Deliverance" being truly stunning tracks.  Some of the shorter tunes like "Pomperipossa" and "En Ensam Vandrare" were a little underwritten.  But still, this was a hulking, beautifully dark album. So it's been a few years since we've heard from Anna, but she's certainly been busy by the looks of these singles.  These are easily her most chilling and beautiful songs yet.  Let's chat about the rest of this album.

This album starts off with “The Truth, The Glow, The Fall”, and this intro is seriously chilling.  I love Anna’s use of disturbing sound effects as well as her organ which has always been so massive.  There are elements of everything from Neo-Classical to Ambient music, but Anna’s very haunting, breathy vocals turn this one completely on it’s head.  It’s beautiful, but it’s also incredibly dark.  But it’s a weird sort of darkness though, one that’s hypnotic and strangely comfortable at times.  That element comes mostly from Anna’s vocals, which have never been more sweet and therapeutic.  It’s strange against these very tightly wound strings and experimental elements.  There are also some sort of Progressive elements, with the seemingly multiple passages to this one.  Anna continues to sound so freakin’ tortured in her performance, I can never get enough of that.  The pacing as well is done expertly.  But I think what’s most interesting here is just how glistening and sunny the second movement here is, entitled of course, “The Glow”.  It’s easily one of the more positive things I’ve heard from Anna, and it eventually becomes this gigantic sunny drone that’s seriously beautiful.  As an opening track, “The Truth, The Glow, The Fall” is seriously intense.  Whether it be intensely beautiful or demonic is all up to Anna.  But it’s one hell of a performance no matter how long it is, and it’s certainly an stunning way to start an album.  The pacing on “The Mysterious Vanishing of Electra” is even more intense, with Anna seemingly channeling her inner Michael Gira with this one.  “The Mysterious Vanishing of Electra” is just so patient, with Anna bouncing back and forth between her acoustic guitar and wide-eyed drones.  But what makes this one stand out the most is the serious intensity coming from Anna’s very tortured performance.  I wish there were some slightly heavier passages or maybe a little more payoff to all of this.  But at the end of the day, this is an incredibly passionate performance from Anna.  And I do seriously love some of the ridiculously ghoulish moments we get in the later moments.  By the time “Ugly and Vengeful” rolls around, it’s become just so obvious that this is such a chilling, otherworldly project.  I feel like all of these tracks just start off so quiet, so docile, but by their end become absolute monstrosities.  I love the use of seriously bizarre sound effects in the background, and just how industrial and horrifying this track is.  Honest to God, this would have fit perfectly on the Silent Hill soundtrack.  Anna once again proves she certainly knows how to put together a very beefy, strong atmosphere.  Her vocals have turned into honest to God chants at this point, hazing in and out of this ones murky atmosphere.  It’s ambient in some part, it’s heavy on drones, and incredibly dark.  Obviously, you really have to be in the mood for this, and you have to have the patience of a saint.  But around the 5 minute mark, when Anna breaks through everything and really comes into her own, “Ugly and Vengeful” becomes seriously beautiful.  Anna’s organ playing is as massive as ever, and creeping pace really does bring in this feel of impending doom.  But for my money, this one perks up around the 9 minute mark when these much heavier instrumentals come crashing down seemingly right on top of Anna.  Things go from an experimental Neo-Classical piece to an all-out Doom epic in a matter of seconds.  Honestly, I really would love to hear Anna dip into the Metal world some more. 

    With “The Marble Eye”, it’s clear that this album has gone from a complete nightmare to a twisted fantasy.  I love the multi-layered organs here.  These are easily some of the heaviest but more reassuring tunes yet.  Once again, Anna seems totally comfortable with making these increasingly heavy and brooding atmospheres comfortable to dwell in.  “The Marble Eye” is massive, and even without Anna’s vocals this one really has one of the more impenetrable atmospheres of this album.  And at 5 minute and 19 seconds, this is by far the shortest tune here.  In a weird way, this is practically an interlude.  But hey, it’ works wonderfully, and it’s almost a euphoric moment with all of these releases one after another.  But by the sound of that hulking organ at the end, this trip isn’t over yet. This album finishes up with “Källans Återuppståndelse”, and from the sound of this intro, I was absolutely right.  This is a freakish, twisted intro for the ages.  Sure, there are also tons of breathtaking moments here as well, but Anna has a real way of keeping things uneasy.  As an ambient producer and experimental music artist, Anna has grown by leaps and bounds.  If you can’t deal with tracks that require tons of patience, this isn’t an album for you.  But if you’re into Drone stuff and really want a haunting listen, give this album a show. 

Rating: 7.6/10




Give A Listen To: "The Truth, The Glow, The Fall", "The Mysterious Vanishing of Electra", "Ugly and Vengeful"




Genre:  NeoClassical / Dark Ambient / Experimental 




Overall Thoughts: In a lot of ways, this is Anna’ most mesmerizing and darkest effort yet.  It goes without saying as well, that this is easily Anna’s most ambitious release, with one monolithic, multi-passage track after another.  It’s dark, twisted, with a few fantasy elements thrown in as well here and there.  However, I think this is far from Anna’s most polished release or most enjoyable.  Some of the tunes here have an incredible base, but never really end up giving us that sweet release we all want.  However, if you’re into drone-heavy, intense atmospheres, give this a shot.  Also, Anna is slowly edging closer and closer to a metal sound, which is more exciting than anything.