Fever Ray - Fever Ray (Rabid Records)
2/5
By: Emily Kaiser
From the much-lauded electronic duo The Knife comes the solo project of member Karin Dreijer Andersson. With clear growth from her origins, Andersson now introduces Fever Ray in the release of her debut of the same name on Rabid Records.
Elaborate layering of sounds is the basis for this more subtle evocation of The Knife. The illusion of simplicity makes a fool of the final result of the beeps and drones that are muddled into complexity. Trickery, questionably intentional, does not stand to excavation; opening track 'If I Had A Heart' initially lulls but has definite life within its depths.
Her overly affected vocals are the weak link for me, adding a bizarre line that is stand-offish without any interest. Otherwise engaging elements unfortunately get cloaked by the musk of stylized, computer-affected rings of something inhuman.
'Seven', contrastly, has a great organic back beat that juxtaposes to become the only track in which the vocals truly find their place. Here they find sense in a natural growth from the rest of the music. The best sounds are these natural ones that appear in the most rewarding places on the album. Congo drums and windpipes are a comfortable clay coating for the very much isolating electronic sounds that usually put the songs into a haze.
The style of building intricacies and duelling timbres persists through the ten tracks of the work, but it's just not enough to make the songs shine. The sum of a lot of small parts may make novelty, but not power - and there's a force that is conspicuously absent as the album ultimately tires.
Artists in this article: Fever Ray
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