Enn SEASON OF MIST
Faroese songwriter turns up the epic on 11th album.
This celebrated figure on the Faroe Islands’ music scene has released 10 albums independently before this one, the consistent quality of which was recognised when she was awarded the Nordic Council Music Prize in 2021. Over that time Eivør has bridged gaps between electronica, folk and classical music, while also, as on 2020’s Segl, singing more in English than Faroese.
On her debut for metal-oriented label Season Of Mist, though, Eivør relies on singing in Faroese, and leans into a style that, while occasionally getting heavy on us, faintly echoes the windswept, widescreen symphonic metal vibe of some of her Nordic contemporaries. It’s a richly atmospheric affair from the start. There’s a meditative quality to the opener Ein Klota (‘A Planet’) as it wistfully evokes ‘a planet unanchored/Drifting without me’. That quotation comes from an English translation of the lyrics Eivør co-wrote with Faroese poet Marjun Syderbø Kjelnæs and has been made available online, which adds an extra resonance to these songs, but they barely need recognisable word shapes to grip the heart strings. Hugsi Bert Um Teg (‘Still Just You’)’s tale of love-lorn insomnia sounds like it means, with the lyrics translating as such arresting yet still rhyming couplets as ‘A homeless yearning seeps under my bolted door/Fills the silence, back for more.’
Eivør’s versatile vocals are another key asset, veering from Liz Fraser-style contralto to falsetto keening and soprano pomp. The emotional impact is enhanced by eleg
