Label : Relapse
Release : 20-10-2023
MYRKUR (Amalie Bruun) returns with her highly anticipated new album, Spine!
The new album is a tour-de-force, amalgamating some of the most exciting, innovative, and genre-defying moments from MYRKUR's catalog into something that is haunting, extreme, and brilliant as ever. Spine lays MYRKUR bare, at her most raw and unwavering, and is undoubtedly one of the year's most ambitious and cinematic albums.
Spine relates to MYRKUR's personal mythology. Written during one of the most difficult times in Amalie Bruun's life - Spine is the direct result of her experiences following child birth. From the love and euphoria that comes with motherhood, to the fears of the unknown and the mysteries of the journey ahead, Spine is ultimately an album about seeking balance amidst chaos. To Bruun/MYRKUR, the record explores the very human nature of what it means to be a mother, and finds resonances with Scandinavian mythology to do so.
Recorded with Randall Dunn at the Sundlaughin Studio in Iceland (Sigur Rós) - the ebbs and flows in Spine reflect the width and breadth of MYRKUR's emotion. These sonic shifts are represented in music that sees MYRKUR touch upon an array of influences - from undeniable metal as heard on the inimitable "Valkyriernes Sang", to darker sonic territories inspired by folk and haunting vocal passages on "Like Humans''. Elsewhere, the brooding "Mothlike" showcases a new side of MYRKUR's sensibilities, with touches of electronic underpinnings and lush synth orchestrations.
Spine's title track proves to be one of the most moving songs of the year, as it transcends through moments of affable, delicate vocal, percussive, and string arrangements to a massive chorus that serves as a thesis statement for the rest of the album. MYRKUR's euphoric outlook is in full display here, as the song proclaims, "My body made your spine / You and I intertwine / You made me human / Stay with me / You will be / The one I love the most".
