The Practice of Love
by Jenny Hval
Metascore
84

Universal acclaim - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
Buy Now
Buy on
  1. Resident Advisor
    Sep 24, 2019
    90
    After so many records, a debut novel and another book on the way, it's a privilege to be invited into Hval's private mental space. Like picking up a conversation with a much wiser friend, each new album compacts her advancing thought into a kind of guidebook for those who aren't quite so mentally together, all her latest learnings folded in. ... Obviously, Hval is anything but ordinary.
  2. Pitchfork
    Sep 17, 2019
    86
    She’s an outsider claiming a piece of the mainstream for herself without sacrificing what makes her music so special.
  3. The 405
    Sep 13, 2019
    85
    Jenny Hval has never come closer to a universal truth. If she’s often felt to have been speaking from on high, Hval has never been more purely human than on The Practice of Love.
  5. The Line of Best Fit
    Sep 13, 2019
    85
    While the two records share an airy, ethereal DNA, The Practice of Love is a far more palatable, more replayable affair – it just doesn’t seem to hit as hard as its sister, but very few albums do.
  6. Under The Radar
    Oct 31, 2019
    80
    The Practice of Love is short, but not if you repeat it three times. It becomes superhuman, a passage into Hval's brain. It gives off energy while telling a story of how honesty sucks blood from love.
  7. The Quietus
    Sep 30, 2019
    80
    The Practice of Love reveals the sensitive humane core that was always behind Hval’s practice of enlightened dissent. The album develops an elegant approach to solving the existential problems of love, care and intimacy from the position of otherness.
  8. PopMatters
    Sep 30, 2019
    80
    This is head music in more ways than one, and listening to The Practice of Love is just as enjoyable as making sense of it once it's over. I'm still far from the bottom of this thing, but the journey there is something I look forward to.
  9. Q Magazine
    Sep 24, 2019
    80
    Startling, gorgeous and illuminating, The Practice Of Love sees Hval continue to stretch the parameters of pop. [Nov 2019, p.111]
    All this publication's reviews
  10. AllMusic
    Sep 13, 2019
    80
    It may be her subtlest, most approachable album yet; though its ideas are just as complex and provocative as those of Blood Bitch or Apocalypse, Girl, there's something welcoming about it that engages the hearts and minds of her listeners fully.
  11. The Wire
    Sep 13, 2019
    80
    It’s dense and esoteric, but gorgeous. [Oct 2019, p.55]
    All this publication's reviews
  12. Mojo
    Sep 12, 2019
    80
    Hval deals in big cerebral questions, but these songs--intimate, intricately fleshed out--have roots in both body and mind. [Oct 2019, p.86]
    All this publication's reviews
  13. Uncut
    Sep 12, 2019
    80
    For anyone who enjoys a dash of shimmering disco hedonism with their feminist theory, or who simply harbours a lingering respect for the sun-drenched joy of '90s trance techno, this album offers a richly rewarding dialogue with mainstream pop. Crucially, Hval understands well the strange, seductive, subversive potency of "cheap" music. [Oct 2019, p.28]
    All this publication's reviews
  14. The Independent (UK)
    Sep 12, 2019
    80
    There’s an interior dialogue throughout, which is sometimes more intriguing than musically engrossing. ... But there is transcendental beauty here to get lost in.
  15. Clash Music
    Sep 12, 2019
    80
    Transcendental trance with some fierce poetry and song? Colour us impressed.
  16. Exclaim
    Sep 12, 2019
    80
    Wrapping The Practice of Love in avant-pop instrumentation, Hval nimbly threads complex sentiments through its prismatic shades of sound.
  17. The Skinny
    Sep 12, 2019
    80
    The Practice of Love is a powerful and joyous offering from one of the last artists anyone could ever accuse of playing it safe. Her unorthodox observations ('She found stretch mark cream / In an Airbnb bathroom') are, more so than ever before, full of wit, bite and beauty.
  18. The Observer (UK)
    Sep 16, 2019
    60
    The smoothness of Hval’s musical vehicle, this time around, allows her ideas to slip in softly, almost subliminally: humanity as a virus, technology’s role in romance, bereavement, panic attacks. It’s an eerie sort of euphoria, but no less of a rush for it.

Awards & Rankings

55
#55 Best Album of 2019

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 26 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 26
  3. Negative: 1 out of 26
  1. charliequaker
    Oct 5, 2019
    6
    On her 7th studio album, this conceptual artist from Oslo, Norway continues down the path of eclectic, experimental electronic music. HerOn her 7th studio album, this conceptual artist from Oslo, Norway continues down the path of eclectic, experimental electronic music. Her lyrics often arise from a philosophical feminist perspective on sexuality, relationships and life dichotomies. Musically, she exudes a sense of mystery with floating synthesizers, electronic pop sounds and existential poetry. Hval is a member of the band Rockettothesky. “The Practice Of Love”, like all Jenny Hval albums, is not made for everyone—but, if you find yourself on a compatible wavelength, you will be ecstatically immersed.… Full Review »
  2. legendarysia
    Sep 21, 2019
    10
    This is a bit different to her previous record but ai like it and that is my review
  3. Antreas
    Sep 13, 2019
    7
    It's an interstellar record hitting, of course, bigger audiences. A brave step from the beloved Norwegian Jenny Hval. Well done! :)
See all user reviews »