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Hanne Hukkelberg - Blood From a Stone
| Pitchfork |
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The thought first occurred to me on an escalator rising out of a D.C. Metro station: Norwegian musician Hanne Hukkelberg's arrangements are so dense and unusual they suck in sound. Listening to the title track of her third full-length, Blood from a Stone, I assumed the off-tempo clacks and the loud blasts of distortion I was hearing were all part of the music, the gradual ascension of the escalator heightening the song's steady crescendo. In fact, these elements were part of the machinery; that clatter was the grinding of escalator gears, and I'd heard that whale-song groaning of the belts every day for years. In addition to being a good reminder to get away from my computer more often, the experience suggested to me a mutability in Hukkelberg's music, which can change dramatically depending on your surroundings. To some extent, all music is like this, but her tightly orchestrated pop can be so intricate that it becomes interactive. That sensation is further heightened by her use of found instruments. Blood From a Stone, like its two predecessors, uses everything and the kitchen sink: bicycle spokes, typewriters, train doors, and flagpoles. Instead of drum kits, Hukkelberg and her backing musicians fashion percussion instruments from old refrigerators, ovens, and other discarded appliances. This isn't Stomp, though. Crucially, she makes no big show of such unusual instrumentation, which is most notable on songs like the standout "In Here/Out There" and the slowly intensifying "Crack", when the makeshift instruments mingle with the bass and guitar to create a strange rhythm section. In general, these are subtle, subdued, and occasionally stiff arrangements, which are as self-possessed as Sufjan's or Danielson's, but typically not as ostentatious....full text |
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| Thelineofbestfit |
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To say that Blood From a Stone conjures soundscapes where Bat For Lashes’ moody beats meets Grouper’s ethereal swathe coated in the glow of Beach House’s sexy haze makes it sound like a much more exciting proposition than it really is. All these similarities are hugely palpable in Norwegian Hukkelberg’s third album, but the problem is that they’re executed with such minimal panache and effort that it’s a chore to make yourself listen all the way through. The majority of songs have exactly the same structure - verses based around a facile programmed drumbeat, cheeping synths that sounds as though they were made on Brian Eno’s iPhone application, Bloom, some incoherent mewing and inconsequential choruses so dull that even her backing singers sound like they’re falling asleep (case in point - ‘No Mascara Tears’). It’s a baffling concept, but ‘Seventeen’ sounds exactly like Kelly Rowland’s ‘Stole’ (remember, the one about teenage suicide?) put through Tegan and Sara’s synthesizers. Don’t believe me? Try Rowland’s lyrics for size - “the brightest kid in school / He’s not a fool / Reading books about science and smart stuff” - and then Hukkelberg’s - “He didn’t fit in at school / The stupid rules / Made him a fool”, later singing about taking “the easy way out”. It’s unwittingly funny, and a perversely welcome lift halfway through a largely dull record....full text |
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| Contactmusic |
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'Midnight Sun Dream' the first track on Hanne Hukkelberg's album is relaxing and even a tad surreal, almost like floating through a dream. This kind of music is perfect for unwinding, during dinner or even just as quiet background music. 'Blood from a Stone' itself is sweet and playful with a serious undertone. As a delicate combination of subtle and lively verses it is well deserving of its status as the title track. The playful strums continue through 'Bandy Riddles' and although all the songs are clearly in keeping with one strict style it doesn't seem to come at the cost of all the ...full text |
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