Released: 02/05/25
Jenny Hval’s Iris Silver Mist—named after a Serge Lutens fragrance described as cold, metallic, and shimmering—explores the shared language of scent and music. The album grew from absence: during the pandemic, with live music gone, Hval turned to perfume as a new way to feel physical intimacy, immersing herself in smells while her music paused.
Throughout the record, fragrance dissolves into mist, smoke, and sound. The lead single, “To be a rose,” pairs spoken-sung vocals with shifting pop structures, using roses and cigarettes as symbols of transformation and memory. Hval reflects on how one thing becomes another—scents, seasons, bodies, and family histories blending into a poetic meditation on change.