Welcome to Infernal Visions, a column where I review an album and pull a tarot card, oracle, or rune called forth by said album, sharing my interpretation of the card and how I feel it relates to the music. Let us bring together distortion and divinity. This week’s calling is Nordic folk album Tungl by Eivør and Eihwaz.
The Call: Eivør – Tungl
With soaring ethereal vocals, cinematic orchestration, dreamy synths, and more, Eivør creates spellbinding eccentric folk music in Tungl. Rejecting AI and recording from a rented house in her hometown of Velbastaður (Faroe Islands), the album has a very organic and fervent feel to it. Favoring the journey and ups and downs of the songwriting process over the ease of AI, an authentic album is created. At the forefront of it all is her beautiful, spiritual, reverberating vocals and vocalization in both English and Faroese. Taking elements of rock, indie, electronica, pop, new age, and other genres Eivør creates something unique and transcendent.
“Og mánin græt / And The Moon Cried” opens the album and is inspired by the Faroese chain dance—a type of traditional a cappella hymn expressed by a ring of dancers telling tales of Viking battles and other stories. A primal beat is felt throughout the track. The first single released from Tungl was “Healer” which opens with echoing vocalization heard moving between the ears with crescendoing tones as the song builds and grows. It is another powerful song with marching trip hop beats, foreboding guitar riffs, and Eivør’s vocals take on a stronger tone as if chanting a spell. Immediately following is “Eon,” a quieter track but with gentler vocals, piano, and strings. The song has less layers but remains a favorite and is easy to get lost in.
Another single release was “Drekafljóð / Dragon Maiden,” which is perhaps the most cinematic track on Tungl with ebbs and flows of ringing operatic vocals and orchestration, and rhythmic bass-heavy movements. “Fangað / Trapped” features guest vocalist and Eivør’s sister Elinborg. Throat-singing is heard adding to the spiritual feel of the album but is juxtaposed against a more electronic/synth heavy backdrop. “Everyone But Me” closes the Tungl peacefully with another quieter, slower-paced track, with airy vocals, piano, and strings.
Each track on Tungl is attention-grabbing, pulling you in and surrounding you with swirling layers of sound. While listening, I found myself suspended and staring into the void, taking it all in. It is completely immersive and beautiful. I was reminded of Myrkur and Loreena McKennitt in a few of the tracks, summoning other beloved empowering female artists. The blend of Faroese musical traditions with modern production and electronic elements is magical purely Eivør. The passion behind the album is clear and the joy of the journey is infectious.
The Card: Eihwaz
Eihwaz is part of Heimdall’s aett, that of the warrior and protector, and is associated with magic, endurance, transformation, and new beginnings. Meaning “Yew tree,” which stays green even in winter, Eihwaz signifies resilience and standing strong even in harsh conditions. It often foretells a time of transformation, encouraging us to pursue new dreams and new beginnings. It also encourages us to embrace change, be flexible, and be ready to endure whatever may come our way. Eihwaz represents the vertical axis, symbolizing the connection between the higher and lower worlds. The Yew tree holds a significant connection to the afterlife but never acts foreboding, simply signifying transformation and change. Eihwaz does not have a reverse position and therefore sits as a neutral rune and indicates an increase in intensity and speed of change when pulled among other runes.
I often see Eihwaz as a necessary period of transformation. When pulled with others, I take it to mean that the surrounding pulls will cause a sudden change. When standing alone, I like to think of Eihwaz as a sign from my higher self that she is calling and ready for me to step further into her. This means coming to a stronger sense of self, evolving but keeping connected to my core and further stoking my inner flame to shine brighter and grow larger. It may indicate a period of self-discovery – finding a new hobby or skill, taking a new class, nurturing a new connection – or indicate a time to hold firm in your values and keep true to yourself during a turbulent period while change happens around you.
Tungl explores themes of the cycles of life, self-discovery, and change. “Tungl” means “moon” and while there is no moon rune, the cyclical nature of Eihwaz and significance of transformation corresponds with the moon. Thinking about its constant presence and steady but predicable evolution throughout time and whatever may be happening below it, I love to think of the resiliency of the moon and how reliable it is. A bright comfort in unknown and ever-changing nights, may she never forget who she is.
Blessed be.
–Angela
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