The recent times have been bleak and burdensome as of late and the skies overhead were a bit darker too with the moon nearly obscured entirely by the darkness of nightfall. For a tour in support of Eivør’s new album that draws upon inspiration from the moon, the absence of that silver orb overhead was palpable. The Fine Line had a healthy line of fans queued up along the sidewalk on 1st Avenue an hour before the doors opened up and by the time fans were able to enter it had tripled in size as fans arrived early enough to guarantee their preferred spots at the Minneapolis venue.
A cello laid on it’s side beneath a chair and microphone at center stage of the Fine Line. London based musician and composer midori jaeger walked out to take a seat and start off the night of music. Recently she released a pair of companion EPs that focus on her mixed cultural identity. Drawing upon the similarities from the concept that a cello was once a living tree that has been uprooted from the dirt. This follows the themes of her childhood of growing up on various continents where she was being uprooted from before having to dig down to form new roots on different patches of soil all while being tended to and nurtured by the new environments.
Before her song “Dark Green” she explained that it is about roots and how those roots can change as we move through different journeys in our lives. It is connected to her mixed heritage of Japanese and American while also taking in the impressions of London where she now resides.
The audience was justifiably captivated by her musicianship and song crafting as they stood quietly in awe with sporadic exclamations of approval during intense displays of skill, especially the ending of “exasperate” which drew sonic parallels to the chaos of that feeling. The crowd clapped, hooted and hollered as she took a pause on the stage with a gleeful grin between the songs. She also played a wonderful rendition of Radiohead’s “High & Dry” which got some laughs as she introduced it as a song from an obscure English band.
It was mesmerizing watching the way her left hand danced upon the fingerboard as her other hand plucked the cello strings with a muted tone as the rhythms of her voice and instrument became intertwined. Playing the cello sans bow in preference for pizzicato style which added a percussive punch to the songs while leaving her voice to take on the smoother qualities normally associated with a bowed string.
From her 30 minute long set, the song “Planted” stuck out to me the most. Mostly due in part to the cello riff that quickly twirls around the fingerboard and then lets a few notes hang on while a buzzy texture emerges from the rattles found between the string and the fingerboard as the note decays. This solo performance was quite intriguing and has led to a curiosity of what her music sounds like when others collaborate with her music. A road that will be well worth the journey to discover the many talents of midori jaeger.
Eivør released her latest album, Tungl, which translates to moon in Faroese just about three weeks ago and it has been a welcome addition to her discography. It delves further into the shadows of the dark electronic elements that were deeply explored on her 2024 album, Enn. Much like Enn was on heavy rotation for me, Tungl is following suit and has become my go to album as of late.
As Eivør and her band mates entered the stage through the hazy darkness the drones a keyboard swells as Eivør’s vocals cried out along with an analog synthesized bass that rumbled the room. This gave way to a calm three notes ascending pattern as Eivør implores us to breathe in and out. To make it through the burden, one must first pass through it before the healing can begin.
“Slow down, keep breathing
Hold on, don't stop believing
Slow down, lonely dreamer
Time's a healer (time's a healer)”
This song, “Healer” was an appropriate choice as an opener as we begin to recover from our collective tribulations or personal struggles. Then following up with “Og Mánin Græt” (The Moon Cried), the new album's opening track and we are off to a great start.
The vocalizations that Eivør is capable of is astounding, one of my favorite vocalists for sure. From the soothing to the shrieking to the throat signing and to the enchanting, she is a remarkable singer and songwriter. Folks in the audience were surely captivated as they swayed to the music with smiles on their faces as they got lost in the soothing sounds.
In between sets a fan next to me, Garrett Obrycki, had a great take on Eivør’s music and said “I think the music does something really interesting blending ancestral sounds that outside of a music setting would be considered insane or madness but it's channeled into this thing that is ritual that produced with this rock expansiveness that makes it accessible and allows for us to kind of open up and step into her world a bit.”
“Everyone But Me” has Eivør asking the moon and stars to shine and in turn become a beacon that illuminates the coastal waters. The track ends with the sounds of a twinkling cosmos that has come to life via a synthesizer. Eivør concluded her run off new songs towards the end of the setlist with one of her personal favorites, “Everyone But Me” and it ends with celestial soundscapes that make you feel like you're drifting off into the cosmos. Over time the moon begins to reflect back the rays of the sun as it drifts through its cycles. Eventually what was once shrouded with shadows begins to fill with light, the moon becomes a guiding presence with its own brilliance. It's a good endcap for the album and for encapsulating the majority of her concert before closing out with familiar end of show songs such as Trøllabundin and especially Falling Free.
The direction Eivør’s music has been headed has me completely enthralled and once again I'm eager to hear what she comes up with next. It was a healing night and everyone was so thrilled to be there. With the new moon filling out and becoming full again, it's time to let the light pierce the darkness and find your new path.
