04.05Fever Ray
In 2005, a Swedish duo known as the Knife mesmerized listeners with the oddly compelling song “Heartbeats,” but the group has been quiet since 2007’s Marble House EP. One of the pair, Karin Dreijer Andersson, has released a solo album this year under the name of Fever Ray.
Fever Ray features similar vocals and the all-electronic instrumentation as the Knife. But the Knife’s electro-pop would be at home in a dance club, while Fever Ray definitely would not. These songs have an ambient, other-worldly quality that invokes something far more earthy than the disco. Some of the songs remind me of the music that accompanies the fantasy computer game
I can do without the two draggy, droney numbers, “If I Had a Heart” and “Concrete Walls;” however, I’m pretty obsessed about all the rest. It’s amazing that all those layered voices are hers. Some I could have sworn were male. Stockholm production duo Van Rivers & The Subliminal Kid and the Knife’s mixer Christoffer Berg added a wide range of percussive effects, like a clop that sound like two hollow blocks of wood being struck against each other, and a wobble like large sheet of metal being shaken.
“Now’s the Only Time I Know” went right in my Favorites of 2009 folder, but the song I have posted, “Dry and Dusty,” “Seven,” “Triangle Walks,” and “I’m Not Done” are equally gorgeous, intense, hypnotic, and sonically rich. The long closing number, “Coconut,” has accents that sound like a hawk’s call.
The video for “When I Grow Up” makes you feel like you are spying on some intensely personal ritual.
When I Grow Up from Fever Ray on Vimeo.
When I grow up I want to live near the sea
Crab claws and bottles of rum, that’s what I’ll have
Staring at the sea shell, waiting for it to embrace me
Fever Ray: When I Grow Up from Fever Ray (2009) | Listen to all
For comparison–The Knife: Marble House from Silent Shout (2006)
MySpace | Website | Label: Brille Records
Buy at Amazon.com, iTunes
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Good job grandma, or should I say… ALT GRANDMA!!!!
April 5th, 2009 at 7:42 am
Never got into The Knife but in retrospect don’t remember giving them a chance. This Fever Ray is excellent! That track and video ‘When I Grow Up’ is hauntingly beautiful. I usually stay with the guitars and avoid the electronica genre. But this has changed my mind. Nice post as always, Thanks!
April 5th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
My grandson, who left the comment above, keeps asking me to play the songs. He likes “When I Grow Up” a lot! I liked the Knife some, but I didn’t buy the album. Fever Ray is different; when I heard this song, I went immediately and bought it all. Love it. Glad you do too!
April 5th, 2009 at 5:27 pm