Fever Ray – Fever Ray
Some of you readers may have heard of the name Karin Dreijer Andersson. That’s because she is one half of the critically acclaimed Swedish electronica duo, The Knife. As the duo take a break, Karin has decided to go solo with her first album of her own material under the name Fever Ray (and also eponymously titled). The singer said that she had loads of material at hand and couldn’t resist making an album. The album was released digitally on the 13th January but only now is it getting the CD release for those who still enjoy music in a physical format.
When I Grow Up is perhaps best representative of the album as a whole – Karin’s Bjork-like singing delivery against minimal electronica that helps a great deal of atmosphere. Most songs on here are very slow-burning like album opener If I Had A Heart, which is quite sinister sounding. Another dark song is Keep The Streets Empty For Me, which only needs the voice of Karin and the spooky and eerie synths to make it one of the standouts. Another highlight is the chiming Triangle Walks, which sounds delightfully retro with a great melodic hook.
Fever Ray’s debut album is a very pleasant listen. The ambience on this record is rich in texture and atmosphere and in a way makes this a perfect album to relax to come summer, despite all the creepier moments. However, for all the minimalist joy there seems to be something missing and it is that that some of the tracks just don’t have the extra punch that they need. Now’s The Only Time I Know sounds like it could do with something else or it would even sound better as track for The Knife. In fact, a few of these tracks could easily have been for The Knife and my feeling is that it would have worked a lot better. Still, this is definitely worth checking out.
RATING – 3/5
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Posted on March 18th, 2009 by Max
Filed under: Albums, Reviews
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[...] Fever Ray – Fever Ray (see original review here) – This year, the whole world seemed to fall in love with Karin Dreijer Andersson. Under her [...]