Eivør Pálsdóttir’s recent single, The Beloveds, begins with a deliberate stomp that could be the Great Heathen Army caving in a door with a battering ram, then comes a dark liturgy sung in Faroese with words that translate into English as: ‘In the cradle of life/Fire frolics/Licks the horizon…’. All the while, Eivør is throat singing ominously like a mythical siren in the water as we board the Stygian Ferry to Hades. The Beloveds no doubt commits every sin known to streaming as Adderall-minded listeners go on the lookout for easy ear candy, and yet – Daniel Ek be damned – it’s completely and utterly mesmerising.
The Beloveds is the opening track on Eivør’s latest album, The Last Kingdom – Destiny Is All, recorded with British film composers John Lunn and Danny Saul. The release coincides with Seven Kings Must Die, the movie version of the long-running Viking TV series, The Last Kingdom. The new soundtrack – containing music from and inspired by the saga – works as a sequel to the original score made with Lunn in 2018, with Saul brought on board recently to imbue Lunn’s mystical music and Pálsdóttir’s words and melodies with an undercurrent of atmospheric electronica. It’s a breathtaking mix of traditional folk and moody synth lines, a perfect landing pad for Eivør’s extraordinary voice.
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