Norwegian pop experimentalist Jenny Hval has announced a new album called Classic Objects, arriving March 11 on 4AD. Alongside the album announcement, Hval has also shared a video for new song "Year of Love."
In a press release, Classic Objects is described as "Hval's version of a pop album." The record is partially inspired by Hval's longstanding diagnosis of celiac disease, something she calls an "invisible complication" that forced her to confront the demands of the music industry. In a press release, she wrote:
This revealed to me the impossible expectations of physical ableness from the music industry, or any industry relying upon a precarious workforce. It revealed to me how little the human experience and its diversity is valued in music, which in turn revealed that it's not really a very sustainable or even relevant form of expression.
The record, while not about this specific story, is described as illuminating "phases of feeling completely stripped of value." She continued, writing:
This made me want to write simple stories. My problem was that I found that the music component in the writing process made the words stray from their path and even jump into the absurd. I think it is just bound to happen when there is music involved. After all, a song isn't just words, it has a melody, and the reason we have melodies is to step into the dark and jump off cliffs.
New single "Year of Love" — which follows last year's "Jupiter" — is inspired by Hval's experience of watching a marriage proposal happen while she was performing.
"For me, this experience was very troubling," said Hval about the story. "It confronted me with the fact that I am also married. What does that detail from my private life say about me as an artist? 'Year of Love' asks, who am I as an artist? Do my private actions betray my work and voice?"
The single comes attached to a video directed by Hval, Jenny Berger Myhre and Annie Bielski.
Classic Objects is the follow-up to 2019's The Practice of Love. Check out the video for "Year of Love," plus the Classic Objects tracklist below.
Classic Objects:
1. Year of Love
2. American Coffee
3. Classic Objects
4. Cemetery of Splendour
5. Year of Sky
6. Jupiter
7. Freedom
8. The Revolution Will Not Be Owned
Pre-order Classic Objects.
In a press release, Classic Objects is described as "Hval's version of a pop album." The record is partially inspired by Hval's longstanding diagnosis of celiac disease, something she calls an "invisible complication" that forced her to confront the demands of the music industry. In a press release, she wrote:
This revealed to me the impossible expectations of physical ableness from the music industry, or any industry relying upon a precarious workforce. It revealed to me how little the human experience and its diversity is valued in music, which in turn revealed that it's not really a very sustainable or even relevant form of expression.
The record, while not about this specific story, is described as illuminating "phases of feeling completely stripped of value." She continued, writing:
This made me want to write simple stories. My problem was that I found that the music component in the writing process made the words stray from their path and even jump into the absurd. I think it is just bound to happen when there is music involved. After all, a song isn't just words, it has a melody, and the reason we have melodies is to step into the dark and jump off cliffs.
New single "Year of Love" — which follows last year's "Jupiter" — is inspired by Hval's experience of watching a marriage proposal happen while she was performing.
"For me, this experience was very troubling," said Hval about the story. "It confronted me with the fact that I am also married. What does that detail from my private life say about me as an artist? 'Year of Love' asks, who am I as an artist? Do my private actions betray my work and voice?"
The single comes attached to a video directed by Hval, Jenny Berger Myhre and Annie Bielski.
Classic Objects is the follow-up to 2019's The Practice of Love. Check out the video for "Year of Love," plus the Classic Objects tracklist below.
Classic Objects:
1. Year of Love
2. American Coffee
3. Classic Objects
4. Cemetery of Splendour
5. Year of Sky
6. Jupiter
7. Freedom
8. The Revolution Will Not Be Owned
Pre-order Classic Objects.
