(5 / 5)
Kira Skov is a successful Danish singer and songwriter, who released the excellent “What Ties Us Together Will Tear Us Apart” this month [ October 2025] via Stunt Records; her eighth album as a solo artist.
What a lovely job it is too. A dozen new songs composed by Kira, three of them with her partner Silas Tinglef, who is the leading musician on the album which they co-produced.
A mix of indie-pop and neo-folk, with a semi-acoustic approach. Songs with reflective, sometimes dream-like lyrics, sweet harmonies and and well-crafted melodies. Some of the music is used on the acclaimed DR3 (Danish Television) drama series “Generations”, which tells the story of four women who unravel a series of family secrets over three generations.
Together with her partner, Silas Tinglef, Kira recorded and produced the album’s tracks in Copenhagen; with Silas playing most of the instruments [guitar, drums, keyboards, percussion, backing vocals and bass], while Kira sings and plays guitar. Joined by Maria Martine Jagd on strings, Anders AC Christensen on bass and piano, Ned Ferm plays flute and saxophone, and Anders Trentemøller plays, Lo Ersare on backing vocals. Brian Batz mastered the album.
Between 2002 and 2006, Kira released three albums with her rock band, Kira & The Kindred Spirits. Her first three albums as a solo artist were recorded with her husband, Nicolai Munch-Hansen, who tragically died in 2017. She had also released “The Cabin Project” album with Marie Fisker, in 2014.
Kira encountered many dramatic tales growing up in the suburbs of Copenhagen with her family. Her father told tales of his friend Dennis who survived horrific events before ending his days by drowning in the bath. Then there was a sister who no one else had ever heard of, who died by overdose. He also spoke about his battle with cancer and subsequent treatment in a hospital in Lund, Sweden.
However, some of his stories proved to be invented – but they ended up becoming part of Kira’s shared history. “And strangely, some of my father’s stories became premonitions of events that would unfold later in life,” Kira explains.
The narratives we create, as well as the unspoken ones in families, have fascinated the singer and composer for years. Eventually, these and memories began appearing as themes in her music. “I had written some songs about family relationships and was getting deeper and deeper into that theme when the phone rang one day,” Kira remembers.
Anna Emma Haudal, the writer and director of the successful DR3 TV series “Doggystyle”, was on the phone – with an incredible proposal. Haudal was working on a new Sunday TV series for DR1 called “Generations.”
Premiering in April 2025, the show tells the story of four women who uncover a series of family secrets over three generations. The writer/director wanted Kira to write the score and songs for the series. “We were working with the same subjects of generational trauma and how we see each other and ourselves through it. The timing was perfect – meant to be! It was a therapeutic, energetic release for me and inspired the songs that have now become a full album,” Kira explains.
Stories are passed down through generations, often through unspoken social heritage and even collective inherited memories. Kira’s grandfather was in a concentration camp during World War II and, as a survivor, understandably brought a lot of trauma into his household. This greatly affected her father, who struggled with addiction throughout his life and perhaps influenced the young Kira’s attraction to people “with familiar shadows,” as she puts it.
The resulting album is direct and profound, addressing the listener in clear, melodic language. “Writing and recording it has been a wonderful process, and I’m very happy with the result,” she says. So she should be. A beautiful [and pretty much in its own lane] piece of work that soaks over you like a warm bath on a chill winter’s night.
Kira’s vocals and in fact this entire album, grows on you the more you hear it. The unmistakable sound of an artist creating music for art’s sake and not for some passing trend or chasing fame and fortune.
The closing track of the 12: The gritty “It Ain’t Pretty”, is a departure from the other recorded songs, both thematically and sonically. “It looks at what it’s like to grow older as a woman in a culture obsessed with youth. They express rage and wonder at internal change and how society treats you you are outside your so-called “prime.” From my perspective as a woman, it’s a kind of gospel/punk song that rebels against ageism.”
My personal favourites include “Scream It Out” and “Calling The Grievers”, but the whole thing is well worth a listen; an unusual and quality listen at that. Kira Skov a new name to me, but I am glad to make her musical acquaintance, for sure. You may well be too…
By Christopher Weston
(1 / 5) ‘Dull Zone’
(2 / 5) ‘OK Zone’
(3 / 5) ‘Decent Zone’
(4 / 5) ‘Super Zone’ (5 / 5) ‘Awesome Zone’
