Frida Hyvönen

Until Death Comes (Secretly Canadian)

With a fragile voice and strong, simple hand, Swedish nymph Frida Hyvönen lands stateside with her debut. Until Death Comes doesn’t transform the fabric of reality, but without stepping completely outside the box, Hyvönen does what Cat Power and Tori Amos never could: She embodies humanity, warts and all. “Opened the memories, and the violence poured out,” she flutters in the lovely “Djuna!” While “Once I Was a Serene Teenaged Child” hints at innocence lost and lives changed, “Today, Tuesday” builds joy in a minor key, teaching independence. “Come Another Night” leaps out of a 1950s left field but is redeemed with the entrancing ivory tickler “N.Y.” Hyvönen might not be the female messiah sent in to save us from all the first-namers, but she’s a return to form, balancing on the thin line between what is and what never will be.

***

This article appears in December 22 • 2006.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US