When you were allowed to smoke almost everywhere, in pubs, clubs and cafés, at the end of the party you wore the smell of the long night home. Cold smoke in the clothes. Not good for health and nose. Today a smell that no longer exists. And that therefore causes nostalgic memories.
Jenny Hval misses him, this smell. Because smoking together in public space was a symbol of casual encounters. When the pandemic with its lockdowns caused isolation, the Norwegian missed many more fragrances. For example, the sweat of the night, which mixes with perfumes and alcohol railways, later also with the fragrances of sexual experiences. In her despair, she organized smells in the form of perfume bottles.
The scent of a cold, stinging fog morning
One of the brands that Hval particularly fascinated: “Iris Silver Mist” of the perfumer Maurice Roucel, the scent of a cold, stinging fog morning. Inspired by these perfume creations and flavors from her odor reminder, Jenny Hval began to write these songs. As an appeal to yourself, to experience sensuality, about fragrances, sounds, pictures, touches.
Iris Silver Mist has two levels. The first consists of formulated songs between Art pop, folk and electronica. Jenny Hval has been showing her magnificent quality as a songwriter for many years. New pieces such as “lay down”, “to be a rose” or “All Night Long” are a bit better because it gives the songs a lot of time, giving them barely tangible arrangements. Synthy areas sound like violins, rhythms from the computer like tropical drums, everything flows together into a warm night sound between noble pop, folk and electronica.
Worn of texts in which Jenny Hval sings about flowers and her scents, about the woman who is woman, being a woman, staying woman. And about the cigarettes that her mother smokes on the balcony and whose smoke performs a dance in the air. Really true: this is the most beautiful tipping poetry in the world. The second level of Iris Silver Mist opens up especially in the second half of the album.
Jenny Hval arranges fleeting moments of perfect beauty
One of the most beautiful moments of listening to music is to walk through the world with songs on the ear and learn how the sounds of the environment integrate into the soundtrack on the ear. So if there is what people talk on the train, what the birds in the trees chirp, which the coffee machines produce in noise, becomes part of the music. Jenny Hval adds many songs of sound of this kind. Monologue. Stemwort. The sound of the rain.
Some of the tracks are only briefly, go into each other seamlessly, build up each other, such as “I don’t know what free is” and “The Artist is Absent”: From ambient, Sade-Soulpop develops, finally a rich club sound. Jenny Hval arranges fleeting moments of perfect beauty here. Comparable to a fantastic smell that encourages you for a moment before he flies again – and you have the desire to experience it again. Which means that you hear Iris Silver crap over and over again ..
You can find out which albums were still published in May 2025 via our monthly publication list.