Myrkur (live at Rough Trade East)

London
26 October 2023

Strangely, I have never been to a performance at Rough Trade East before. Even though the venue holds regular live events and some by artists I admire greatly, its never been top on my list as a venue to see bands as I kind of thought it being a shop it would not have the atmosphere of an ordinary venue. This I am happy to say I was proven wrong about , and it even had a proper bar, so it wasn’t a dry show.

For Myrkur, this would be her only UK performance this year (and no dates yet announced for 2024) in support of her latest and fourth album, Spine. 2020’s Folkesange took a step away from the black metal influence that had underlined her first two albums to give something slightly more akin to northern European folk music.

Its here where Amalie Brunn’s (to use her real name) voice truly soars when she sings over minimal instrumentation and in particular drones to create the kind of sound that gives you goosebumps on long winter evenings. Even though the new album has some quite uptempo tracks, it is still Brunn’s deep dive into more traditional Nordic sounds that elevates her music away from just being another form of metal, and like Norway’s Wardruna, adds a more spiritual touch.

Tonight’s in-store promotion splits the evening between her performance and a record signing that 300 people eagerly get in line for as soon as the music is finished.

Myrkur gives a stripped-down performance of four tracks from the new album with herself on vocals, accompanied by a seated guitar player adding a darker metal edge to her drones and piano playing. The style we are presented with is far more in keeping with her previous album in the way it is delivered, letting her vocals take us on a journey through ancient times and deep woodlands. Tonight she performs “Like Humans”, “Mothlike”, “Valkynernes Sang” and the title track of the new album.

Her piano playing is as faultless as her vocal delivery, filling the shop with beautiful unearthly sounds from another realm and giving an essence of the dark winter forest within the shop in the East End of London. It would be interesting to hear her take on these same songs with her full backing band to see how differently they would come across live. But for twenty minutes we are each transported to an almost Tolkienesque world that conjures up visions of the northern tradition in a way that artist like Hagalaz Runedance used to do.

Even though there are calls for more, it seems that Brunn wants to get on and tackle the hoards of people wanting their vinyl and CDs signed. Even though it was brief, it was still wonderful to see Myrkur perform and she certainly is a captivating live singer.

Let’s hope that she will return to the UK next year for a proper series of dates in support of the album, as I think certainly a London show would be packed to the rafters to see her take a trip through her catalogue as she has not done any proper UK shows since 2018 if I rightly remember. Come back soon Myrkur and take us again on another trip to snow-capped mountains and ancient forests.

-Gary Parsons-