Elias Rønnenfelt of Iceage Breaks New Ground with Debut Solo Album ‘Heavy Glory’

I think I might need a blindfold for the remainder of 2024.  Holy cow, this year has been something.  I don’t know what it’s been really other than something strange. That’s not the point though as Elias Rønnenfelt is releasing new music and I’m not trying to detract from that.  

Elias Rønnenfelt — the Danish musician and poet best known as the lead singer and lyricist of Iceage — announces his debut solo album Heavy Glory, out October 25th via Escho, and presents the new single “No One Else.” Heavy Glory is the sound of growing up in the world by throwing oneself into the world, made by someone whose only constant companions have been a pen and a guitar. The album tells tales of isolation, excess, and perseverance in the face of chaos.   Heavy Glory first took shape in the spring of 2022, during the curious coda of the pandemic, when the world felt neither open nor closed. Rønnenfelt, “sick and tired of not being able to do what I do,” announced to his fans and friends that he would play shows anywhere in Europe, in any venue, to whoever wanted to hear his music. On the road, Rønnenfelt would write songs and play them the next day. These songs, which form the heart of Heavy Glory, were designed to be played anywhere, and they had to be: they were christened in forests and living rooms, bookstores and chapels.   Following the rollicking country of lead single and album opener “Like Lovers Do,” today’s single “No One Else” litigates the feelings of love that arrive too late, leaving only memories. The self-directed video features a blindfolded Rønnenfelt riding a horse in the Wyoming plains, wandering the Las Vegas strip, and floating down a lazy river. Co-produced by Rønnenfelt and Nis Bysted, Heavy Glory was recorded in Copenhagen in chapters and moments over the course of a year. Collaborators include Iceage’s Dan Kjær Nielsen, Danish punk godfather Peter Peter, as well as singers Fauzia and Joanne Robertson (who Rønnenfelt has collaborated with before on numerous Dean Blunt releases). “I’ve done this so many times,” Rønnenfelt explains, speaking of the process of crafting a long player, “but capturing and crystallizing an album remains a singular ritual, just with different circumstances. We are capturing something that is hard to hold down.”   Heavy Glory is a record that examines all the things that lovers do, from the most desperate to the most pure. The lover haunts the record, reappearing and provoking Rønnenfelt, pulling him in and pushing him away. Songs like “Close” describe the line between jealousy and protectiveness. “Unarmed” is a song of surrender. “River of Madeleine” harnesses toughness in the name of preservation, staying up all night to protect his lover’s dreams. “Stalker” is an epic third-person story song in the tradition of the murder ballad.   The record closes with two covers. The first, Spacemen 3’s “Sound of Confusion,” is a mission statement of the life Rønnenfelt has found and inherited in music. “Here it comes,” the song famously promises, and flares out into noise. It is a joyful noise, because this life, in all its grit, is the life he chose. The second, Townes Van Zandt’s “No Place to Fall,” is a sweet plea, Rønnenfelt’s final invitation to join him on his journey. This journey—this story, this record—will repeat and continue. It never stops. Rønnenfelt’s life as an artist results in a sound that wobbles and rocks but never loses its center, both fragile and tough, and always moving forward. It is dreamy yet bombastic, held together by the passion of certainty.   Next month, Rønnenfelt will perform at Giorno Poetry Systems in New York on Thursday, September 26th. More live dates will be announced soon.