Dear Lucia,
I hope you have a wonderful time reading my song by song analysis of Nanna’s Album How To Start a Garden! I am absolutely obsessed with this album and have been listening to it (almost) exclusively in the days since it came out. You will notice this is a part two because I wanted to finish my song by song review before I went and had outsider input (Interviews, other reviews, etc). So here we are, having read watched and listened to other people talk about my new obsession, and with all the more thoughts to share with you. Buckle up!
Reykjavík Grapevine
The Reykjavík Grapevine did both a written and video piece about Nanna and her new album. I loved both. The newsprint edition had some beautiful pictures of Nanna, whom I am in love with, as well as some beautiful description of the tracks. The video interview had a lot of overlap with the written piece, but it was quiet powerful and playful in ways that the written piece could not be. I enjoyed listening to Nanna explain her process and even pick out parts of songs unmixed so the audience could hear how all the parts flowed together.
One thing I particularly loved about these is that a lot of the themes I picked up on were proved right. This makes me sound crazy. I sometimes wonder if I am just bsing my way through analysis, but having the artist literally say what I said brings some authenticity to my claims. One word that Nanna used to describe her album that I was searching for throughout my whole previous analysis was ´melancholy.´ Indeed, Nanna also talked about how loneliness can be addicting and even when we need people there is something about the feeling that cannot be let go. I was quite touched by these two pieces, and happy to hear Nanna talk about how this was not a break from Of Monsters And Men, but simply something that had been stirring inside her that needed to be brought out and recorded. She also confirmed that OMAM is working on a new album so just you wait you’ll get a whole piece on that as well.
Sheroes
This was my first time listening to this podcast, but I do love the idea of having a women-heros podcast. I also love that Nanna is considered a hero. This podcast did, however, because of the audience, go very in depth about a lot of Of Monsters And Men history which I am well acquainted with. Beside that, it is wonderful to hear Nanna talk about her growth as an artist and producer.
It is interesting to hear Nanna talk about how these songs didn’t feel like they fit OMAM’s vibe, and so she kept them to herself. I am interested if she has a real difference in mind between songs like “Phantom” originally written as songbird, but then released by OMAM and not on How to Start A Garden. Phantom, to me, feels very similar to the rest of the HTSAG album, and would fit really well. On the other hand, Phantom has a lot of trumpets and swelling in a different sort of sadness that OMAM seems to share and is well known for. The beauty of Nanna being in OMAM while also working on her solo project is that it allows for blending and new discovery in a way that one or the other would not.
In this interview, Nanna talks about how Bloodclot/ Andvaka is the oldest song on the album, and how this song is the one that really made her want to write a whole record on her own. It is surprising, then, to me, that she did not release this sing as a single before, or that the rest of the album did not share as many themes as it could have with this song. Most of the songs on this album deal with the natural beauty of things, and this song focuses more on the physicality of being. It almost feels as though it belongs on Beneath the Skin (OMAM’s second album, which has a lot to do with body and being).
Nanna also talks about how this album is a return to her roots. I love that she indulges us in letting us see her introverted, personal, place where she makes her own music. Additionally, she talks about how this album really allowed her to breathe because growing up she was completely surrounded by men in the music scene, and then that continued as all her band-mates were male.
I am obsessed with Nanna saying an Icelandic saying, of course in English, but the host just being a little flabbergasted. Nanna said “I am just in my butthole” which is a common in Icelandic, but not as much in English. The little quirks and laughs make hearing another side, not as melancholy, from Nanna is quite beautiful.
Finally, she talks about the last song and how it is about a beautiful death. So it comes full circle from the bloom of the first track to the end with the ghost chorus, yet with birds and rain closing out the album.
Atwood
Atwood Magazine combines a song by song approach with an interview with Nanna. This allows for some more great insights, such as Nanna’s view that “This record that I just made, How to Start a Garden, is perhaps the introverted part of me. I’ve sometimes described that this album is headphone music. It’s a person walking home alone at night, or driving in their car or on a train or lying in bed. It’s a conversation between myself and a person on the other line.” Additionally, she says that the album is supposed to be nostalgic and hopeful, with the knowledge that something like starting a garden takes patience and time. I hope that her neighbour, the one with the garden that really inspired these songs, is aware of how much of a cultural impact he has.
Not only does she talk about how this record feels like a pure release of herself, but talks about how she hopes it will resonate with someone else. Of course, it has resonated with me, but I lve the idea of someone stumbling across this in their time of need, much like I did with My Head Is An Animal, that brought me to this wonderful place.
Northern Transmissions
This one didn’t say much at all, but I do like how it references “[Nanna’s] childhood music teacher, fellow Icelander Bjork plus gardens and ghosts.” Which, I guess sums up Iceland for everyone who hasn’t been here.
Conclusion
This is the least letter like letter I have ever written, and I am very sorry. You get to see just how crazy this band and person make me. I had the pleasure of meeting Nanna, as well as the rest of OMAM when they were preforming in Iceland in 2019 for Iceland Air Waves. It is crazy to think that at that time Nanna already had written Bloodclot/ Andvaka. It feels so long ago, and since then, I have graduated from two programs, and moved continents. Nanna and her bandmates have been huge helps to me along the way, and I don’t think anyone will really understand the yearning in my soul that happens whenever I hear their music. This album feels like the pause in the wind on a cold Icelandic winter day, where the sun is only up for a few hours. There is something about Iceland that cannot be put into words, and having lived here for nearly 2 years now, the music takes on a whole new perspective.
I cannot wait to hear more music from these folks. I am so proud of them, which is a strange feeling to have about a basic stranger, but one who has seemingly poured out their heart to you and influenced your life in such meaningful ways. I love how How To Start A Garden flows so beautiful in itself. The emotion is palpable. I hope you listen to some of it, even if not all, because it really means a lot to me and I am so happy Nanna got to share this part of herself with the world.
Love,
Alex