By LoffMusic
Anna von Hausswolff –“ICONOCLASTS” is destruction that liberates
Sometimes, in order to build something new, we must first tear down what we already believe to be eternal. That is what Anna von Hausswolff seems to proclaim in her fascinating new album
A sonorous cathedral made flesh
From the first bars of “The Beast”, the eternal organist becomes the architect of a monumental sonic universe. The pipe organ, the saxophone blasts (by Otis Sandsjö), the synthesizers, the ritual percussion: everything aligns to shape a structure that feels at once biblical and personal. Here it’s not just about volume; it’s about inhabiting the space, burning in it, and emerging transformed.
“Facing Atlas”, “The Iconoclast” or “Stardust” feel like conscious decisions to abandon the old – identities, loves, beliefs – and jump into the abyss of the unknown. “Who am I? Who am I?” sings von Hausswolff on “The Iconoclast,” and the question echoes in every corner of the album.
Voices and alliances that exploit the mold
One of the most notable surprises is the collaboration with Iggy Pop on “The Whole Woman”: a duet that crosses generations, genres and expected structures. Here the artist shows herself “as the woman I am”, and not as a domesticated version of herself.(Pitchfork)
On the other hand, Ethel Cain contributes on “Aging Young Women” a voice that amplifies the theme of aging, the passage of time and lost longing. Each collaboration is not an embellishment, but an extension of the album’s internal universe.
Iconoclasm, but also renaissance
More than an album of rupture, ICONOCLASTS is a rite of passage. Music becomes catharsis, destruction becomes the foundation of the new. The lyrics speak of freedom, of letting go of the weight of the constructed, of allowing one’s own voice – one’s own identity – to reveal itself. In a world rehearsing pandemics, crises and reinventions, this album emerges as an urgent response: music as an act of intimate rebellion.
For those familiar with Anna von Hausswolff’s work, this album is a leap: more accessible in form, but still wildly ambitious in aspiration. For new listeners, it is an open door to a soundscape that combines gothic, experimental and pop without losing its edge. ICONOCLASTS is, in short, a work that demands attention, that asks us to immerse ourselves, to feel the weight of the organ, the beat of the saxophone and the urgency of each note.
In a world where the stable breaks down, she decides to break the idols. And in that ruin she finds a wild beauty.
