Hi, everyone. Finethony Timetano here, the internet's busiest music nerd, and it's time for a review of this new Anna von Hausswolff album, ICONOCLASTS.

This is the newest and sixth full-length album from songwriter, vocalist, producer, composer, organist Ms. Anna von Hausswolff. For over a decade now, Anna has been releasing music in a variety of experimentally leaning styles. From minimalism to drone, to left field strains of classical and rock music. But regardless of what era she has been in creatively with whichever album, she typically does bring a larger than life sound. I haven't heard an album from her yet that, at least to some degree, didn't sound otherworldly and ritualistic and mystical.

I would actually say that is especially the case for ICONOCLASTS over here, as I think it is her biggest undertaking to date. What exactly does that mean when you're talking about an artist who previously has made albums as gigantic and panoramic as Dead Magic and All Thoughts Fly?

Well, to start, this record, I believe, is her longest, at 73 minutes in length. It is her most stacked as well in terms of notable guest collaborators, as you have Iggy Pop on this LP, Ethel Cain, too, and even Anna's sister Maria for a really beautiful song toward the end of the album, which I will get into later.

But Anna and her usual producer on this project, Filip Leyman, really did try to go all out on this record, instrumentally too, expanding beyond the organs and keys that typically serve as the backbone of many of her records.

While those elements are still most definitely there, the real star of the show on this project, outside of Anna's vocals, of course, are all these layers of saxophone. Which are brought by saxophonist Otis Sandsjö, who goes absolutely nuts on this record, aggressively howling on some tracks or giving us these freaky stuttering licks and tones that sound like a tremolo-picked guitar or something. At points, his playing does remind me of Colin Stetson a bit – and I apologize for maybe bringing him up first, because I don't really have too many reference points for experimental saxophonists. Outside of the realm of jazz, I mean. Otis's playing does remind me quite a bit of Colin's, but if you could somehow imbue Colin's performances with a rock star bravado. Because for sure, Otis does do a bit of showboating here and there on some tracks on this record, but it just adds to the thrill and theatrics of these songs.

I would also say ICONOCLASTS is one of Anna's most cohesive albums thematically, as there are a lot of lyrics throughout this project that deal in womanhood and aging, the passage of time, as well as family and loved ones. But, sometimes, it's all fed through very surrealist or even nightmarish imagery. I would add, in addition to all of this, there really is a cinematic flow to the record, too. Big macro picture element going on here from the starting track, "The Beast", which in a lot of ways is a snippet, a motif, a melodic theme, that is later to come on the album as the track "Struggle with the Beast" is pretty much the long, rocking, multi-phased epic that this song is really just giving us a little bit of a sneak peek of. I honestly love that forecasting.

After this, we have the first full song on the album, "Facing Atlas", which despite being about five minutes in length itself, also does feel like a teaser of some sort. The track also serves as a show of the sonic magic that Anna and her collaborators are going to be subjecting us to on this album with just this ocean of bassy drones, shimmering tones, cavernous reverbs.

It really is like some wondrous studio magic that is being pulled together here. Even if the overall vibe and sound isn't quite as organic, or indebted to whatever wide open space the music is being recorded in, or something like that, which has very much been the case for a lot of Anna's previous records, where the energy and again, sound of the recording was so dependent on the place that the organ was in where she was playing and recording. We're not really getting that quite as much this time around, but really no matter, because Filip and Anna here have pretty much pulled together a series of sonic palettes on these songs that sound like the soundtrack to some blockbuster movie epic.

From this track forward, the rest of the album just proceeds needs to go as big as possible, not only sonically, but in terms of song lengths, too, as you are getting some pretty long cuts from here with decent to fantastic results.

With the title track, though, I will say I think Anna has had stronger vocal performances in the past. Her delivery on this one is so trebly and nasaly, shouty, and occasionally strained, too. I wouldn't say it's due to a step down from previous records, though, in terms of ability and quality. I think Anna has just managed to write a very vocally and instrumentally demanding song here. As over the top and as massive, as it is, I feel like there are definitely some kinks that could have been worked out.

A funny irony, though, following this track, "The Whole Woman", Anna's much more measured vocal delivery on this track I found to be actually really enjoyable. The song itself is solid, but this track also features a guest vocal from none other than Iggy Pop, whose very awkward, weary croons weigh down the song's full potential.

Sadly, I'm not really going too gaga for the following track, "The Mouth", either. It does have some interesting vocal passages and enchanting layers to boot, but its lengthy progression doesn't really offer too much more on the back-end other than some weird distortion and panning experiments.

"Stardust", though, in my opinion, is really where the record starts to pick up, as this track is a very intense, transcendental piece of sax rock with steady drums, fuzzy bass licks. Anna getting a bit more aggressive with her vocals, too, and the song is the better for it. It really is one of the most hard-hitting and visceral songs on the record, and somehow stays fiery and exciting for the entire duration of its meaty length.

"Aging Young Women", with Ethel Cain, to follow, I do have some mixed feelings on, though. I like the way that Ethel and Anna's vocals marry on this track. As a song itself, I think it's really solid and enjoyable. But it is a track that despite its subtle beauty, there is, I think, an intimacy that is lost in all of the reverb, and booming drums, and strings, and the vocals sitting so high in the mix. Meanwhile, there's not really a lot of instrumentation taking up the mid-range, so the track feels weirdly sterile and hollow. I think doing something a bit looser, and more acoustic and stripped back, would have done this tune wonders, and also maybe provided a little bit of sonic diversity to this record. Because, truth be told, pretty much all tracks on the record, to one degree or another, just sound really, really massive.

However, moving from here, the final leg of the record is very strong. "Consensual Neglect" is a powerful and densely layered instrumental cut that comes to a super bright and just a firework finish.

"Struggle with the Beast", which the opening track of "The Beast" was essentially teasing toward with these sax themes. Anna, Filip, and Otis really smashed it on this one in my opinion. In terms of really making the wait for this just giant, this mountain of a track that we just got a tiny little hint of at the beginning of the album. Like, this eight-minute monster is such a brutal and heavy listen that it does feel like contending with a mythical beast of some sort. One that you only heard word of at the start of the album, and now you're being faced with the reality of it, and it's just greater than you could have ever imagined.

"An Ocean of Time" is an all-encompassing and chilling drone number that really is a calm after the storm, and it's a very worthwhile calm. Even if it could have been maybe pared down just a little bit in terms of length.

"Unconditional Love", featuring Anna's sister of all people, is a gorgeous ballad with wonderful vocal layers and brings that intimacy that I was hoping for the Ethel Cain track to provide for the tracklist. The singing on this track is just so emotive, and pained, and touching. Meanwhile, these very simple and bright organ leads that play after those vocals, it really is just like tear-inducing.

Following this, we have an instrumental closer. We have these book-ended tracks that start and finish the album, which again add to that cinematic flow, that macro picture.

Despite there being a good handful of tracks that I think could have been tweaked, or changed, or moments in the flow of this album that could have been altered for a better overall experience, I'm still walking away from this record pretty impressed. Because Anna and her collaborators really were shooting for the stars. They may have just ended up hitting the moon here, but the high quality peaks on this album, of which there are quite a few, really do make for some larger than life moments, which is why I'm feeling a strong 7 on this album.

Anthony Fantano, Anna von Hausswolff, forever.