Track By Track: fyllt í eyðurnar By Elín Hall

Elín Hall’s latest EP wrestles with breakup in every shape and form

It’s safe to say that Elín Hall’s name is on everyone’s lips. If she isn’t portraying Vigdís Finnbogadóttir on national television or Bubbi Morthens in the theatre, then she’s probably off somewhere at a red carpet ceremony in Europe. Somehow, she even makes time for her music career. Springboarding off the success of her 2023 album heyrist í mér?, Elín phoned up her close associate Reynir Snær Björnsson to help out with her new album. Performed live in studio Hljóðriti, fyllt í eyðurnar aims to capture the essence of breakups.

Barnahóstasaft

The opening track starts with the sound of birdsong, which Reynir recorded in downtown Reykjavík on his way to the studio. I wrote the song about the fact that you can’t really console yourself after a breakup. When you’ve lost a person who was once there for you and you’re stuck with your own emotions. It’s incredibly childish to just want to be consoled.

Fyllt í eyðurnar

“Fyllt í eyðurnar” is a song I co-wrote with Hrafnhildur Magnea (Raven) and, like many of my songs, revolves around unsatisfactory communication. To be giving up on accommodating someone who doesn’t dare to have the talk.

Heiða

This song is about the breakdown of friendships, which I think can sometimes be harder than a typical breakup. There are some guidelines to follow if a heart gets broken, but people don’t really talk about losing friends. When people select their partner, they usually just pick one. Friends can be many and some closer than others, that’s why it can feel much more personal when someone quits a friendship.

Afmæli

“Afmæli” is probably the most literal song on the album and talks about simply breaking someone’s heart on their birthday. There’s an edge of country in the arrangements, but mostly in the narrative. The lyrics are direct, revealing and muted.

Gaddavír

This one was close to ending up on my last record. You could say that this is the track that set the new album in motion as I contemplated releasing it. “Gaddavír” is the only track I wrote on piano. The framework for the song is simple and the subject matter is heartbreak. But there’s a taste of poison in the lyrics, and they are pungent when you take a closer look.

Föðurlandssól

The last song includes everything I’ve mentioned up until now. I wanted to write a big song during a time of momentous closure in my life. The song is influenced by a country-style narrative and Icelandic literary heritage. I wanted to paint pictures which seemed personal. I wanted to whisper secrets into the ears of listeners and subsequently blow the song up with grand metaphors and doomsday declarations. The goal was to encapsulate the concept of a breakup, process it with a song, and continue with my life. The birdsong revisits the listener at the end of the album and thanks him for the journey. Hopefully too early and perhaps without a conclusion. If I had to express my own verdict, it would likely be that all the world’s art cannot describe breakup sufficiently. They are merely attempts. Maybe it’s the struggle with this lofty goal that’s more interesting.