Jenny Hval – To be a rose

Jenny Hval’s To Be a Rose is the lead single from her upcoming album Iris Silver Mist, it sets the stage for an exploration of transformation—how one thing becomes another, how scent and song intertwine.

Built on a restless pop structure, the song reinvents itself with each chorus, shifting perspectives in fast motion. The lyrics capture a sense of memory: cigarette smoke rising into the air, linking past and present as Hval recalls her mother smoking on the balcony while she sang in her room. “A rose is a rose is a cigarette,” she sings, warping Gertrude Stein’s famous phrase into something personal and surreal.

Iris Silver Mist is set for release on May 2 via 4AD.