How Beauty Holds The Hand Of Sorrow. Ane Brun

With her previous album, now about one month old, Ane Brun really came into my life. We had no musical click whatsoever , but.with 'After The Great Storm' we had. As it was an atypical album for her, electronics as a large chunk of the album, that did not put my hopes op high for How Beauty Holds The Hand Of Sorrow. It amazed me from the very first sounds though.

It is also an album I have difficulty finding the right words for in writing. It is so solemn, so serious, that I do not really know where to start. An obvious start is that the songs all hold an internal beauty. Ane Brun has stripped nearly all away and presents the bare essence of her compositions. This results in small silences that need no filling. Listen to the opening song. 'Last Breath' is as painful as it sounds. Sparse piano notes are adorned by a string section. The arrangement allows for silences in between. No little melodies that flourish in between here. "I held your last breath within my chest", for the few fleeting moments when she has to exhale again, I notice thinking. A moment of extreme intimacy but also finality. It is that kind of album. One that goes well beyond the daily normalities of boy meets girl or whatever.

'Closer' is even darker. After a beautiful piano intro Brun sings: "When you're in your darkest hour, when you think you'll never recover..." falling further down and down, to return with an alternative towards the light: "you will grow ... you'll be fine". I have the idea to hear "closure" and not "closer". Closure would fit better with the mourning following "Last Breath".

With How Beauty Holds ... Ane Brun comes close to the music her Norwegian colleague Susanna presented on her fully solo album of this year 'Beaudelaire & Piano'. Ane Brun allows a string section on the album but keyboards are the main instrument here. The result is music that makes me introspective. I'm reminded of situations I do not necessarily want to be reminded off.

Having said that 'Song For Thrill And Tom' starts and makes me even more melancholy. Ane Brun is singing in my ear, only for me. A glimpse of her previous record pulses in my ear, a choir sings along and creates an almost mystical atmosphere. This is beauty alright and a tip for the Kairos radio show for sure.

In 'Meet You At The Delta' a guitar (acoustic) sounds for the first time on the album. It doesn't change anything in the mood of How Beauty Holds ... . This is an album between Ane Brun and her listeners. The only way to truly connect with it, is to be alone and play it loud enough, perfectly seated in between the speakers or through a head phone. In the middle you will find Ms. Brun singing as if only for you and no one else.

There follow five more songs on How Beauty Holds The Hand Of Sorrow. Listen to them also, you will not be disappointed. You will even hear the first percussion! For someone who could not find the right words, it's time to stop writing and hand over.

Wo.

You can listen to and order the album here:

https://balloonrangerrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/how-beauty-holds-the-hand-of-sorrow

or listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g