Just last year, Norwegian musician Jenny Hval’s album Apocalypse, girl made its way onto Flavorwire’s best-album-of-the-year-so-far list, with our former Music Editor Jillian Mapes writing that it was “An exploration of the self that navigates childhood memories and gender struggles through Björk-esque belting and orchestral noise-pop.” Already in mid-2016, Hval has announced her follow-up album, Blood Bitch, which a press release refers to as “in many respects a complete 180°” from Girl.
Hval herself refers to the album as a “fictitious story, fed by characters and images from horror and exploitation films of the ’70s” — brought together in an exploration of menstrual blood as a symbol. She writes that it’s her “most fictional and most personal album” at once, saying:
There is a character in this story that is a vampire Orlando, traveling through time and space. But there is also a story here of a 35-year old artist stuck in a touring loop, and wearing a black wig. She is always up at night, jet lagged, playing late night shows – and by day she is quietly resting over an Arp Odyssey synthesizer while a black van drives her around Europe and America…It’s also the first album where I’ve started reconnecting with the goth and metal scene I started out playing in many years ago, by remembering the drony qualities of Norwegian Black Metal. It’s an album of vampires, lunar cycles, sticky choruses, and the smell of warm leaves and winter.
And on top of the gift of Hval’s own vivid description of her album (which will be out September 30 via Sacred Bones), she’s also shared the track-list, as well as announced European/LA/NYC tour dates, and shared a new track, “Female Vampire” (the second track on Blood Bitch). Hval’s vocals here sound caught in a Julia Holter-y echo chamber, while an incessant staccato propels the track forward, creating the odd sensation of jumping rope while sleeping.
Here’s the track list:
1. Ritual Awakening 2. Female Vampire 3. In The Red 4. Conceptual Romance 5. Untamed Region 6. The Great Undressing 7. Period Piece 8. The Plague 9. Secret Touch 10. Lorna
And the tour dates:
Fri. June 3 – Duedingen, CH @ Kilbi Festival Sat. June 4 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound Fest Sat. July 16 – Chicago, IL @ Pitchfork Festival Fri. Aug. 5 – Katowice, PL @ Off Festival Sun. Sep. 1-4 – Larmer Tree Gardens, UK @ End of the Road Wed. Sep. 14 – Oslo, NO @ Ultima Festival Fri. Sep. 30 – New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge Mon. Oct. 17 – Glasgow, UK @ Stereo Tue. Oct. 18 – Manchester, UK @ Soup Kitchen Wed. Oct. 19 – London, UK @ Oslo Fri. Oct. 21 – Brussels, BE @ AB Sat. Oct. 22 – Paris, FR @ Point Ephemere Mon. Oct. 24 – Luzern, CH @ Suedpol Wed. Oct. 26 – Berlin, DE @ Kantine am Berghain Thu. Oct. 27 – Amsterdam, NL @ De School Fri. Oct. 28 – Hamburg, DE @ Kampnagel Sat. Oct. 29 – Copenhagen, DK @ Jazzhouse Fri. Nov. 11 – Los Angeles, CA @ Resident