CD
Rough Trade (2010) EU
On SWANLIGHTS, ANOHNI explores expressions of animism and her visceral relationship with the natural world. This version of the album includes a bonus track '‘FLÉTTA", a duet cowritten with Bjork. While I Am a Bird Now employed simplicity in its vision, and The Crying Light austerity, SWANLIGHTS' sound is expansive, employing an array of percussive elements, string drones, distorted guitars and shimmering symphonic stages. In the lyrics of "Everything is New” ANOHNI asserts an idea that each moment is reborn. The title track “Swanlights” expresses a sense that is primordial and elusive; psychedelic guitar tones and melodies evoke a feeling of volatile majesty: “I’m gifted by your grace /It’s the Swanlights on the water / on that shining face". On "Thank You For Your Love", ANOHNI cries out a mantra of gratitude for care and interdependency on a soulful track that suggests parallel trauma. "Salt, Silver and Oxygen" and "Ghost", both co-written with composer Nico Muhly, diverge into mythical worlds of dynamic abundance and joyful expressions of spiritual crises, supported by agile harmonic layers of instrumentation.