Free-form folk duo: Jenny Hval (vocals, guitar) and Håvard Volden (guitar).
Photo by Håvard Skaset
Album out January 6 via SOFA MUSIC:
The music: Free folk perhaps? Taku Sugimoto, Shirley Collins, Lou Reed and Diamanda Galas meets up to share blood, and the blood hits the ground to become a little weed called Nude on Sand.
Musically, their debut album is stripped, but not minimalist. There are few formal restrictions, allowing the music to shift with a SNAP from naive blues, spoken word and completely fragmented pop songs. The lyrics follow these abrupt shifts with endearing absurdity, representing the blogosphere as much as poetry. The result is essentially vulnerable, exposing a youthful, Beckett-like nakedness.