photo by Tobias Humble "honey / do you see me? / crawling to my hotel room / in the moonlight / you need to explain / why you left me here / now the lights are out / grab a bottle and sing it out / I am spinning round / losing my mind... "
That artful darkness and internal questions of "Honey, do you see me" by EERA, the moniker of Berlin-based Norwegian artist Anna Lena Kirsten Bruland, and from EERA's new album "I’LL STOP WHEN I’M DONE", floats on artful constructions and Bruland's utterly evocative vocal countenance teetering on the verge of longing and being gaslit (??). I am absolutely loving the cagey sonics expressed by a sort of stalking sensibility with the dominant bass lines, the off beat guitar strums, solid almost stoic drums and again Bruland's vocals sometimes hushed but on a precipice of emotional contact and falling into an abyss. As the other orchestrations flood in the sonic environment somewhere between post rock, baroque pop noir / dreamy chamber pop the feeling of relief and austere survivorship wash over you.
"honey / do you see me? / crawling to my hotel room / in the moonlight / you need to explain / why you left me here / now the lights are out / grab a bottle and sing it out / I am spinning round / losing my mind... "
EERA explains (from Liner notes):
Honey, do you see me? is heavily inspired by the 1960s film ‘The Apartment’. “I loved the dialogue in the movie which inspired me to write the lyrics” explains EERA. “I was fascinated by the fact that the main character (an intelligent and beautiful woman) is madly in love with a man who has a wife and the boss of a big company. It affected her self-confidence with this man playing with her feelings, promising her the “world” etc. I wanted to write a song from her side of the story but also exaggerate these types of feelings in the song, where you almost feel a bit mad. The desperation of trying to be loved by someone who really doesn’t want to be with you takes over your self-worth. You forget about yourself, and all the focus is on him.”
AND (from Liner notes -excerpted / bracketed):
[EERA’s new album I’ll stop when I’m done. is the artist’s first research-led body of work, inspired by the Marilyn Monroe quote “I won’t stop when I’m tired, I’ll stop when I’m done” which led EERA to do a deep-dive into the real lives of the iconic starlets of Hollywood’s Golden Era and the characters they portrayed on screen, from Shirley Maclaine in ‘The Apartment’ to Marilyn Monroe in ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’. “It felt as though I was having this conversation with these women, in a dialogue that made me realise a lot about myself” EERA explains. These observations are interweaved with introspective and intimate reflections on what it means to be a modern woman. What emerges is a studied celebration of the female experience, in all its complexity, strength and vulnerability.]
From top to bottom and inside out- I absolutely love the way this track, produced by Chris Taylor (Grizzly Bear), embraces you, draws you into the storytelling and moody, even eerie vibe, losing yourself can be a scary thing.
-Robb Donker Curtius
See some upcoming LIVE dates below
26 September - Rough Trade Denmark Street, London (in-store) (Tickets here)
14 October - The Lexington, London (Tickets here)
16 October - Lark, Berlin (Tickets here)
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://soundcloud.com/eeramusic
https://www.instagram.com/eera_official
https://www.facebook.com/eeramusic/
https://x.com/EERAmusic
Musically, I’ll stop when I’m done carries a decidedly softer and more subdued sound, punctuated by warm percussion and upbeat intervals, straddling echoes of EERA’s formative PJ Harvey influences and something more psychedelic recalling the bewitching dream-pop of Broadcast.
LIVE:
26 September - Rough Trade Denmark Street, London (in-store) (Tickets here)
14 October - The Lexington, London (Tickets here)
16 October - Lark, Berlin (Tickets here)
EERA has previously released two albums, 2021’s Speak (Just Dust Recordings) and 2017’s Reflections of Youth (Ninja Tune/Big Dada Records) both received much acclaim, championed by the likes of MOJO, Uncut, Loud & Quiet, Dork, DIY, Clash and The Line of Best Fit with huge support at BBC 6 Music with Speak awarded ‘Album of the Day’ and a session recorded with Marc Riley. EERA has toured throughout the UK and Europe including support slots with Mitski, Ghostpoet and Public Service Broadcasting who she regularly writes and plays with; and performed at festivals such as By:Larm, End of the Road and Roskilde.
Honey, do you see me? is out today and the long-player I’ll stop when I’m done. follows on 26 September via Test Card Recordings (on vinyl, CD and digitally).
No comments:
Post a Comment