How Beauty Holds the Hand of Sorrow

Released in late 2020 as a companion piece to the more rhythmic 'After the Great Storm', 'How Beauty Holds the Hand of Sorrow' represents the quieter, more traditional folk side of Ane Brun's dual-album project. While its sibling explored electronic textures and trip-hop influences, this album returns to the intimate chamber-folk roots of her early career. Recorded during a period of personal loss and global isolation, the album focuses on themes of grief, mortality, and the redemptive power of nature and gratitude. Critics, including those at AllMusic, noted the album's stark contrast to her more experimental pop work, praising the 'dry' and 'intimate' production that places Brun's signature tremulous vibrato at the absolute center of the mix. It stands as one of her most cohesive and emotionally direct works, functioning as a sonic sanctuary.