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Classic Objects
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Classic Objects Image
Metascore
85

Universal acclaim - based on 18 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.2

Universal acclaim- based on 13 Ratings

  • Summary: The latest full-length release for Oslo-based singer-songwriter Jenny Hval features songs about places she has been as well as imagined places.
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. The Skinny
    Mar 8, 2022
    100
    This is untethered, uncluttered music, made with real heart by an artist at her peak.
  2. DIY Magazine
    Mar 9, 2022
    90
    ‘Classic Objects’ walks the line between art and humanity, between nature and fabrication, between the real and the conceptual. It’s the audible equivalent of a painting affixed with human hair.
  3. Exclaim
    Mar 10, 2022
    80
    Classic Objects ought to be weighed down by its thematic density, by its specificity and insistence on revealing its own ropes and pulleys. It's to Hval's immense credit that it feels airborne instead, the work of an artist operating at the height of her craft.
  4. Clash Music
    Mar 9, 2022
    80
    ‘Year of Love’ opens the record with a palm-muted guitar riff, unexpectedly, and from there ‘Classic Objects’ blossoms into classic Jenny Hval, ‘Cemetery of Splendour’ and ‘Jupiter’ forming its plain, heavenly, skyscraping highlights.
  5. AllMusic
    Mar 11, 2022
    80
    On songs as different as the poignant protest song "Freedom" and the title track's winding musings on existence and creativity, it's both comforting and thrilling to hear Hval breathe life into the everyday so fully.
  6. Dusted Magazine
    Jun 22, 2022
    80
    Classic Objects demonstrates Hval’s capacity for musical growth and lyrical introspection. It is her best work thus far.
  7. Sputnikmusic
    Mar 14, 2022
    76
    The lyrics might not always make linear sense, but there’s a sort of appealingly weird logic to it all, and the musical soundscapes invite the listener towards some (often placid) alternate dimension. This may be a mood listen, more than anything, but as a soundtrack to a relaxed moment on a sunny day, you could do a whole lot worse.

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. Fuerstenberg
    Mar 26, 2022
    8
    Jenny Hval's eighth solo project "Classic Objects" is by far the most straightforward and personal album of the Norwegian singer. The deep andJenny Hval's eighth solo project "Classic Objects" is by far the most straightforward and personal album of the Norwegian singer. The deep and layered production is characterized by surreal, loose, levitating melodies between psychedelic, electronica and indie pop with upbeat tunes.

    Hval shows herself calm and self-confident as usual. Lyrically she is always thoughtful, clear and direct. Overall, it's a soft, delightful album with music from the heart.

    My favorites:
    "American Coffee"
    "Year of Love"
    "Jupiter"
    "Freedom"

    ~ Fürstenberg
    March 26, 2022    … Expand
  2. All_ButTrU4
    Mar 22, 2022
    4
    Jenny has always been aware of what her body means to her, others and the world. From her dissociative exploration on her stunningJenny has always been aware of what her body means to her, others and the world. From her dissociative exploration on her stunning collaborative efforts that bore "meshes if flesh" and "innocence is kinky" to the insular meditations on the glorious "blood **** " that took menstruation down blackened vampiric path. Even the heady remuneration of "the practice of love" anchor a breathtaking analysis of relationships, womanhood and aging. The aforementioned were all dexterous shows of exactly what hval found important enough to source her music from but here she looks at herself with historical attention. Excavating her past for gems of emotional significance giving the suggestion the classical object she's referring to is herself. Looking for belonging though loaded moments such as the magnifying "American coffee " which spouts the couplets "What is a home but the place you'll be dying?/
    What's far away but places to lose yourself?" And like most of the record they are answered through a long rich narratives that leave greater questions at the end.

    In the moments when she steps away from the graying tapestries of her past she looks towards a future where protesting and activism have become trends that work more for earning clout for "caring" instead of intending real change. It's closing song boast a deceptive pessimism that sticks onto the album atmosphere in repeated sittings as apparent in "And this song is regulated by copyright regulations
    And dreaming doesn't have copyright
    I guess you could say "The revolution will not be owned"
    Which when you realize it is a depressing commercialization of suffering.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

46
#46 Best Album of 2022

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