Norwegian multidisciplinary artist Jenny Hval releases a new single, “High Alice,” from her forthcoming album, The Practice of Love, due September 13th via Sacred Bones. It follows lead single, “Ashes To Ashes,” a synth-heavy track that circles the issues of mortality with a kind of humane delight. “High Alice,” which builds with an oscillating beat and Hval’s layered vocals, reconfigures the Alice in Wonderland tale as a sensual and surrealist experience of coming into writing.
“For a while, this song felt like my entire album. I had no idea what the rest of it would be, just a feeling like this song and the title, the two words ‘High Alice,’ would get me there,” says Hval. “My guiding stars at the time were Clarice Lispector’s The Hour of the Star and Kylie Minogue’s ‘Confide In Me.’ Maybe High Alice is the narrator of this album. I don’t know how I wrote it, it was automatic. But I found it really funny that I mentioned the sea three times. High Alice goes to all the places I have taught myself to avoid, like the four Big Themes: Love, death, life, the ocean. The ocean. The ocean.”
Listen to “High Alice” here:
The Practice of Love unspools with an almost deceptive ease following the horror and viscera of her previous album, 2016’s Blood Bitch. It sees the world from above and creates a landscape both realistic and imaginary. Through this landscape, multiple voices engage and disperse, both Hval’s own voice and the voices of collaborators Vivian Wang, Laura Jean Englert, and Félicia Atkinson. The record considers the notion of intimacy from all sides as Hval uses the pop song format to attempt to make sense of what love and care actually mean — love as a practice, a calling, a vocation.
Pre-order The Practice of Love – http://sacredbonesrecords.com/products/sbr229-jenny-hval-the-practice-of-love
The Practice of Love Performances:
Fri. Sept. 20 – Sat. Sept. 21 – Oslo, NO @ Ultima Festival
Sun. Sept. 29 – London, UK @ Milton Court
Wed. Oct. 16 – Frankfurt, DE @ Mousonturm
Wed. Oct. 30 – Paris, FR @ Centre Pompidou
Sat. Nov. 9 – Utrecht, NL @ Le Guess Who? Festival
Sat. Nov. 23 – Katowice, PL @ Ars Cameralis Festival
The Practice of Love Tracklist:
1. Lions (feat. Vivian Wang)
2. High Alice (stream)
3. Accident (feat. Laura Jean)
4. The Practice of Love (feat. Laura Jean and Vivian Wang)
5. Ashes To Ashes (stream)
6. Thumbsucker (feat. Félicia Atkinson and Laura Jean)
7. Six Red Cannas (feat. Vivian Wang, Félicia Atkinson and Laura Jean)
8. Ordinary (feat. Vivian Wang and Félicia Atkinson)
The Practice of Love artwork:
