Ceremony

The young Swedish singer-songwriter Anna von Hausswolf has a rock band, but her instrument is a church organ, the playing of which depends on unaccompanied sections and decay time, the sound of notes receding into silence. There’s a stillness and reflection on “Ceremony” (Fat Possum), her second album, especially when she’s playing alone; but there’s also a lot of straight bombast. She has a will to sing of cosmic desire in a Kate Bush-like voice that isn’t quite as big as she wants it to be, and her own instrumental writing is simple and limited, leaning too heavily on rolling arpeggios and gothy triads.