As one of the most unique artists of her generation, Faroe Islander Eivør Pálsdóttir - known simply as Eivør – has established herself in the hearts and minds of a wide range of music fans – from pop to folk to metal - due to her crossing of musical genres and pushing the boundaries of the expected. “I never felt I really fit into any box,” says Eivør. “I just have to do it my own way.” It has been almost twenty-five years since the release of her debut album and with each passing year, she has broadened her appeal writing music for film, television and games including The Last Kingdom and God of War. Enn (Still in English) is an album sung completely in Faroese with lyrics mostly penned in collaboration with Faroese poet Marjun Syderbø Kjelnæs. It is partly the result of Eivør and her partner, the classical composer Tróndur Bogason, decamping to a tiny Faroe Islands mountain village of fifty people, called Tjørnuvík with no agenda but to “write freely” for a possible side project. Eivør says, “Slowly I realized, I shouldn’t think about this as a side project. This is where I am at right now creatively.”
Eivør’s first album since 2020’s Segl begins with the spellbindingly seductive Ein Klóta (A Planet) written during the time spent in Tjørnuvík. Ein Klóta paints a picture of existential drift and emotional detachment, expressing feelings of solitude and a search for meaning or connection in the vastness of life’s ocean. Ytsta oyggin / Fer í kav / Í sjóbláu kvirruni / Eitt hjarta / Eitt hjarta / Leyst úr landi (The outermost island / Slips inside / The ocean-blue hush / A heart / A heart / Unmoored). Beginning with gentle piano and Eivør’s achingly tender vocal, the track sets an exquisitely ethereal tone from the first moments. “It is a song about watching your world from afar as it changes.” During the latter part of the track, she reaches notes that angels can only dream of attaining and we are transported to the celestial atmosphere that she wishes to depict. Crystal clear and utterly mesmerising, Ein Klóta is an opening track that will leave fans in no doubt that a special experience awaits.
For Jarðartrá – written in 2021 and the first single from the album - Eivør states, “It literally means the lust for the earth/ground but can also be interpreted as Dust To Dust which is the title we chose for the English translation.” Ominous synths swell, a steady pulsating beat begins and haunting vocalisations greet the listener as we yearn to hear more about the journey on which Eivør is determined to take us. Across the album, there is incredible use of space, the time for songs to evolve organically and the development of soul-stirring tones. The first ninety seconds of Jarðartrá is a wonderful example of this as the beguiling rhythms and colours ensnare the listener. Lyrically, the track explores the notion that, “The Earth calling on us in the midst of all our greed and destruction, beckoning us to find our way back into her blue embrace.” Lyrically, the track is a damning indictment of our treatment of the planet; the sense of urgency in the music and the rhetorical question at the end of the track, urges us to consider how much time we might have to repair the damage we have done. Osandi / av tíni grimd / ævigt vápnagrá / er tín jarðartrá / Eldurin / má loga út / lívsins fyrndarlag / Kanst tú syngja tað? (Reeking of / your cruel rage / flaking weapon-rust / crusts your fierce death-lust / Raging pyres / must blaze out / life’s primal song / Can you sing along?) The synths final twenty seconds of the song linger in air as if to ask if we have made our choice.
Hugsi Bert Um Teg (Still Just You) - the most upbeat offering on the album - has the feel of songs such as Nothing To Fear and dwells on the lingering memory of another person and love that once was. Dansi í náttini / tíðin hongur / Men enn er tað bara tú / í mínum tonkum (Dance in the starless night / Time is dragging / And there is only you / on my fevered mind). While Eivør might have started from a more traditional musical background, the track is testament to the range of styles that she has embraced and mastered during her career – the first three tracks all explore different musical territories. Such is the control she exudes over her craft that what is - at its core - a three-minute pop song, is elevated to a completely different level and is just as captivating as any of the more musically reflective pieces. Fourth track Purpurhjarta (Purple Heart) returns to more introspective pastures, examining the thoughts of a someone who is grappling with an inner darkness and seeking a path to light and freedom. Built around piano, strings and voice, there is a shadowy, enigmatic ambiance woven throughout the song as Eivør calls out in need of understanding. Piprar dirvið / Trevsast tankar / Skarlaksdimmi / Nær lýsir í? / Hvør hoyrir meg? (Quaking courage / Thoughts are fraying / Crimson darkness / When might morn come? / Who’s listening?)
Title track Enn (Still) – the longest song on the album at seven minutes - starts with airy, ephemeral vocalisations which soar high above like a circling bird – present but distant. Eivør calls the lyrics to the title track “hardcore. The song is about war, the wars that are going on in the world - especially lately, but that have always been going on and how to find a glimpse of light in this overwhelming darkness.” Lyrically, Enn (both the song and the album) demonstrates how adept she and Marjun Syderbø Kjelnæs are at conjuring images in the mind of the listener with poetic words that suggest and hint rather than bludgeon or demand. As birds abandon our shore / And terror sorrow crowns / I feel my way to your skin soft fortress grounds / Under leaden heavens. Enn builds as different instruments and sounds are layered upon each other as the song unfolds. The final two minutes are a swirling, almost trance-inducing mix of different intertwining vocalisations, throbbing oscillations and enchanting electronic textures; it is among the most bewitching sections of the entire album.
Serving as quintessential instances of Eivør’s wide auditory spectrum, Lívsandin (The Breath of Life) and Upp Úr Øskuni (Rise From The Ashes), occupy vastly different stylistic domains. The former presents like travelling across a calm lake in deep contemplation as the natural environment encircles the listener. Upp Úr Øskuni is of a completely different nature and is certainly Eivør’s most metal moment. Combining growling beatboxing, visceral throat singing and crunching guitars with her more traditional styles, it is one of the darkest tracks she has ever recorded but is completely in keeping with the message it intends to convey. Rísa upp á svørtum veingjum / Svíva inn í náttina / Tú ert systir mín / Eimborin úr dimmum iva / Nú ert tú brennimerkt við mær / Og eg verji teg (We ascend on tar-bright wings / Soar into the falling night / You’re my sister soul / Ember-born of a dim doubt / Now you’re branded with my mark / And I protect you). She considers the track a beacon of female empowerment and solidarity. “I wanted to write about sisterhood and women supporting each other, and these raw female elements which are not pretty and not polite, just raw. I wanted it to be wild and untamed. It’s quite witchy. When I wrote the song, I imagined a coven of witches from the past and the present all supporting each other, chanting to each other across the chasm of time.” The repeated insistence of the song title towards the end of the track drives home her call to arms with a ghostly fascination.
Final track Gaia is, in some ways, a sister track to Ein Klóta, bookending the album with the most seraphically alluring songs, written at a similar time during her stay in Tjørnuvík. With a distinctly choral aura, Eivør calls it, “A love hymn for the Earth.” Named after the mythological Earth goddess, it reflects a deep connection with our planet with rich, evocative imagery conveying feelings of comfort, transcendence but also the sense of our fleeting existence. Glittering blackness / Ceaseless silence / As I am floating / Deep into space / Departing your blue embrace / Knowing with you - I was a passerby. It is flawless conclusion to what Eivør herself identifies as, “The most nuanced and experimental album that I've created to date.”
With Enn, Eivør has once again confounded all expectations; across its forty minutes, she has confirmed her status as one of the most gifted vocalists of her generation. Enn leaves the listener utterly spellbound and each track resonates with a radiantly divine energy, a confluence of ancient tradition and contemporary artistry which transcends mere music to become a sweepingly epic, cinematic and deeply immersive experience.
Enn is released on 14th June on Season of Mist.
