ALBUM REVIEW: Live At Montreux Jazz Festival – Anna Von Hausswolff

January 13, 2022 Jack Moar

As an artist ANNA VON HAUSSWOLFF resists the convenience of definition, even within the locus of her own work. The musician and composer has produced five studio albums which, between and within them, exhibit her incredible versatility; ranging from minimalism and post-rock to neo-classical and art-pop. She is best known as a pipe organist, and introduced the remarkable instrument into the heavy music scene with Ceremony and All Thoughts Fly, but her vocal talents are equally impressive, capable of extracting an astonishing variety of tones from her own voice. In 2018, she was invited to support NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS at the Montreux Jazz Festival, and (alongside her rock ensemble) she brought songs taken from the Miraculous and Dead Magic albums to the shores of Lake Geneva.

Immediately, The Truth, The Glow, The Fall establishes the tone for the performance: full, bright and intense. “Can you hear the song?” chants Von Hausswolff, “It haunts you.” Pomperipossa then eclipses the brightness of the opening track with ravishing, dark intensity. Here she channels the frenzied energy of DIAMANDA GALÁS, whose alternately operatic and gospel tones will be well known to tonight’s audience. There is much more vigour in this performance than the studio original, which should be the appeal of any live album, and the mixing and mastering of the record (undertaken on the Queen Neve desk, of QUEEN fame) brings this performance to life once again.

Next, The Mysterious Vanishing Of Electra brings its seismic rhythm to proceedings. Von Hausswolff’s confessional, dark lyrics and visceral brooding intensity are painted in shades of SWANS (with whom the former has collaborated) and it’s fantastic to hear their particularly punishing brand of post-rock reimagined. A bowed bass guitar creates the sonorous drone introducing Ugly & Vengeful, which casts a beautiful dark spell beneath Von Hausswolff’s soaring voice. That frenzied SWANS-like intensity returns for the track’s second half, which sees Von Hausswolff switching to a blood-curdling shriek, building towards an all-out cacophony of noise, rhythm and synthesiser-surrealism.

Källans Återuppståndelse gives a glimpse of ANNA VON HAUSSWOLFF’s more minimalist side: a serene, sparingly layered and wonderfully textured piece which offers a gentle reprieve from the set’s vigorous momentum. Leaving an impression with maximalist material like Ugly & Vengeful is one thing, but to really nail the spaces in between is testament to Von Hausswolff’s remarkable versatility as both songwriter and composer. Come Wander With Me/Deliverance concludes the band’s performance, and somehow manages to reprise the vast breadth of material delivered this evening.

Good artists copy; great artists steal. So goes the saying, but by anyone’s reckoning, ANNA VON HAUSSWOLFF’s ability to build on her considerable musical background to create performances as timeless as this is truly remarkable. To have been able to record this at the world’s most prestigious jazz festival speaks volumes about the composer’s incredible versatility, and while the album focuses on her rock-aligned material, there are tantalising glimpses of ANNA VON HAUSSWOLFF’s many other colours woven in throughout. This album documents some amazing material, delivered in an unrestrained live setting, and closes the chapter on an exciting start to ANNA VON HAUSSWOLFF’s career.

Rating: 8/10