The Practice of Love

Jenny Hval - The Practice of Love
Critic Score
Based on 19 reviews
2019 Ratings: #96 / 805
Year End Rank: #44
User Score
Based on 432 ratings
2019 Rank: #188
Liked by 21 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

90
Crack Magazine

The Practice of Love is an ambitious undertaking and a bold new direction for Hval. It is, in a word, spellbinding.

86
Pitchfork

The Norweigan artist brings her heady, personal text into the world of dance music to create an affecting, transcendental album that lives on the boundary of pop and the avant-garde.

85
The 405

Compared to the often dense structures of her work in the past, the album possesses a near looseness, comfortable letting itself drift between lulling electronic backdrops, more groove than orchestration.

85
The Line of Best Fit

The eight tracks here amount to a brief, concise, succinct album that serves as an exquisite counterpoint to the vivid horror of Blood Bitch.

85
Spectrum Culture

Much like the songs themselves, the overall effect of The Practice of Love blurs edges and boundaries.

80
Uncut

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.

80
The Irish Times

Collaborators lend earthy reality to record that is a tender sister to visceral Blood Bitch.

80
Q Magazine

Startling, gorgeous and illuminating, The Practice Of Love sees Hval continue to stretch the parameters of pop.

80
The Arts Desk

Hval explores alienation and the blurring of boundaries generated by ageing, and their relations to gender.

80
The Independent

The themes of The Practice of Love are encased in a warm cocoon of poetry, blissed-out circling synths and trance-like Nineties beats.

80
God Is in the TV

Jenny Hval’s The Practice of Love's music and lyrics are undeniably thought-provoking and can easily take one’s mind to unknown subconscious places.

80
Mojo
Hval deals in big cerebral questions, but these songs--intimate, intricately fleshed out--have roots in both body and mind.
80
Clash

Running in at under 35 minutes it never outstays it’s welcome and proves a thrilling exploration of Hval’s unique examination of the world.

80
Exclaim!

Wrapping The Practice of Love in avant-pop instrumentation, Hval nimbly threads complex sentiments through its prismatic shades of sound.

80
The Skinny

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 are, more so than ever before, full of wit, bite and beauty.

80
Under the Radar

The Practice of Love is short, but not if you repeat it three times. It becomes superhuman, a passage into Hval's brain.

80
AllMusic

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.

80
PopMatters

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.

60
The Observer

The Practice of Love ... makes radical concessions to melody, rhythm and pleasure, a deep exploration of emotion with a new-agey, therapeutic feel.

dumbmoonlight
80

Yeah, yeah, I love people. In fact, I love things people create with their love. Some people create products, recipes, and even other people! But one thing that always keeps me entertained, is my love for this kind of music. Maybe this is what I usually expect when I hear about a new Lana Del Rey or Grimes release, and even if I won't listen to this on a daily basis, I cannot deny I love the concept this album holds.
And yeah, yeah, the title track made me think my earphones were broken in the ... read more

Aoaystheory
83

Jenny, for me, has always been one of those artists I'm not particularly fond of but have a large amount of respect for her music and will never skip one of her releases. Clearly, her music is interesting, often uncomfortable, but always well done in terms of quality and execution. I've watched a couple of her live sets which were odd and uncomfortable, but again, reflected her style and themes. I started listening to her when she put out Innocence is Kinky and this, for me, is easily her ... read more

usedtobe
95

"I have a thousand placentas / they are all burnt."

Mixing singsung like vocal interplay , vivid poetry and splashes of electronics intertwined with Jenny's effervescent voice makes this her most adventurous, superbly crafted work yet that is dancefloor ready, at midnight when all lights are off and the room is splattered with carnal desires. Having such inclusion of unexpected collaborators (Felicia Atkinson, Laura Jean and Vivian Wang), this new outing from her grabs your ... read more

90

The shuddering success of failure has never sounded so uplifting.

oobiegooby
59

Great production and I appreciate what she's going for. Though, this holds no replay value to me and sounded uncomfortable. Sonically pretty nice!
However, the spoken word segments were annoying as hell and sounded like she was trying to be deep and poetic but she just sounds silly.
Favorites: Ashes to Ashes and Thumbsucker

merduardo
80

mar maremoto mar maremoto mar

Fav tracks: Six Red Cannas, High Alice, Accident e Thumbsucker
Least fav: The Practice of Love

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Added on: July 10, 2019