Jenny Hval, creator of one of the year’s most important releases, has shared a new video for ‘Apocalypse, girl’ standout, ‘Take Care Of Yourself’. The video features peculiarly framed footage of a live performance by Hval and collaborators at Stage 48 in New York City. The group perform with screen projections and abstract props. This is not your usual ‘just video a gig, it’s the third single’ clip. The audience look transfixed or mystified, depending where your eye rests. The track itself is full of existential dread and anxiety with a feminist angle. There’s a feeling of general unease at the world that is reminiscent of Laurie Anderson and pre-millenial Thom Yorke, a feeling that runs through the album as a whole like scar.
Hval and the crew are heading to the UK for dates in November. As well as being a chance to see a fascinating artist in a live setting, the tour will also give me the perfect excuse to miss out on Guy Fawkes Night on the evening of the Glasgow show.
November dates are as follows:
05 – Glasgow (UK), The Hug & Pint
07 – Leeds (UK), Brudenell Social Club
08 – Manchester (UK), Soup Kitchen
09 – Bristol (UK), The Lantern
11 – London (UK), Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen
If that’s not enough (and when is it ever?) ‘Apocalypse, girl’ opener ‘Kingsize’ has been reworked into a sultry electro track by London artist Kelly Lee Owens. Remember when Armand van Helden transformed Tori Amos’s ‘Professional Widow’? Well, this is a similarly radical re-jigging, although this one won’t be featured on a hundred cheesy dance compilations. Definitely worth checking out though.
‘Apocalypse, now’ is available now via Sacred Bones Records