While performing for years as The Knife, the Swedish duo of Karin Dreijer Anderson and Olof Dreijer spanned multiple sounds while experimenting with angular and semi-accessible electronic-based auras. Numerous awards overseas and a widespread notoriety for mysterious aloofness left audiences with very little to chew on for the past few years. Both Olof and Karin, essentially, focused on separate projects since the release and overwhelming success of Silent Shout, and this break, in our minds, has left Karin as the moneymaker of the duo. In addition to laying down vocals on Royksopp’s new album, she has created a wistful, if not sometimes gothic, cocoon of sound with Fever Ray, her first full length since putting The Knife on pause.
The first thing that pops out on this LP is how accessible it is. Brutally morphed vocals and dark, mystic electronics don’t immediately strike a listener as pop-like, but it’s hard to ignore how catchy the Fever Ray songs are. Grand synthesizers, lofty and arching vocals and well-placed diving percussion all form into a blanket of juxtaposing qualities; on one hand this is a record in full ambient control, namely in tracks like “If I Had a Heart” and “Dry and Dusty” where grim and spooky tenderness outweighs the vocal delivery. On the other hand, Karin keeps one foot firmly planted in pop sensibility. ”Keep the Streets Empty for Me” is still at its heart a folk tune, despite drum machine electronics and overriding synth sludge. The Knife had the ability to span multiple genres, as have many Swedish acts of recent note. Fever Ray is no different in this regard, and if anything, its polish and focus on gothic macabre is a notch above all the rest.
There’s a chill to nearly every track on this record, isolating the listener in alarmingly dark ambience. “Coconut” begins with echoing percussion that sounds like the ghost coming up the stairs and bleeds into wispy blips and whistles; I’m not sure if I’m supposed to be thinking of witchcraft and Wiccan philosophy, but nonetheless the track makes me wander into Pagan wavelengths. Upon first listen, I said to my colleague, Brian, “This is like Gregorian monks meet Blondie.” Of course, this was a trite oversight, but even upon multiple listens, it’s hard to miss the obvious influence of creepy crawly things. ”When I Grow Up” plays out like a bone rattling narrative even though the lyrics are inherently positive. This seems to be the nature of most of the record; accessible lyrics and typical pop modalities are splashed against an eerie backdrop. Within these finely defined parameters, there is not one bad track on this record. She’s damn good, and she’s confident enough to step outside the box to prove it. Most of the tracks are sweeping, but it peaks particularly with “Concrete Walls” a brooding statement midway through the album with police siren electronics and vocals that sound straight from a dashboard-melted cassette tape.
It may be the simple answer to pawn this effort off as experimental and ambient, but after a few listens, this is a problematic way to do it. Karin Deijer’s new found artistic vision with Fever Ray is sophisticated and steps above the already successful modes of The Knife. This is well worth the purchase today, as the record is sure to be on everyone’s shelves ready to enjoy. Watch the youtube clips and enjoy “Concrete Walls.” Open your minds and ears to this surreal landscape. This will hit a ton of year-end lists, and along with Silent Shout, the Deijer clan has had an overwhelmingly successful decade.
Buy Fever Ray on Insound now!
