Photo: Press
One of the most surprising, and delightful, elements of Jenny Hval’s London show is the warm humour she brings to her live performance. It’s a little unexpected as it essentially showcases her latest record, last year’s superb Blood Bitch; a work that delves into subjects not commonly associated with sharp one-liners, namely menstruation, vampires, and 70’s horror flicks.
The show is prefaced by Virginia Wing in support, whose sharp electronics, often vicious beats are married with Alice Merida Richards pure, yet slightly menacing vocal. Their vaguely gothic soundscapes are an excellent start to the evening, and it sets the scene perfectly.
That seductively mysterious mood prevails through Hval and her band’s arrival onstage. Unsurprisingly, red is the costume colour choice for this evening, which extends to crimson faceprint that Hval and her band also sport. In addition, Hval wears what appears to represent entrails around her neck like a stole. Visual signifiers such as these might suggest hardcore metal, but the aesthetic is softer than you might imagine, and the intensity of what is implied alleviated by Hval’s gentle banter.
Her voice needs little warming up - its high and pure, yet mildly curiously quality is rolled out without hesitation. The same can be said of the band, who recreate the record’s experimental-folk with accuracy but also increased energy. 'Female Vampire' becomes more drivingly propulsive than it’s recorded version, and 'Secret Touch’s inherent danceability and groove is both deepened and aerated.
Hval is a beguiling performer. She moves around the stage with a concentrated dedication to the themes of her music; covering her face in a veil of red cloth, and twisting vein-like yarn around herself. 'The Great Undressing' is introduced by a droll skit on how she couldn’t very well sell her “Not safe for Capitalism” bumper stickers from the march desk - assuring us all they are free. All of which means she stays true to the themes of her music but avoids overly earnest, cold intellectualism.
The result is unanticipated escapism. She takes earthy, uneasy facets of female existence and liberates them in massively entertaining fashion. Her live performance pumps fresh blood into these already fantastically singular songs to create an extraordinary show that touches on performance art. In turn, Hval produces an elegantly inverted burlesque performance of conceptual romance.
