Radical Romantics
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CRITIC REVIEWS
90
On first bite, Radical Romatics might taste more like their self-titled debut than Plunge. But repeat listens deepen an appreciation of the questions, concerns and insights Dreijer packs into it all. This time Fever Ray is different again and, as ever, they’re not done.
8mo
84
Karin Dreijer’s richly detailed third album renders the search for love as something both sensual and alien.
8mo
81
The Swedish experimental artist unveils newfound perspectives on queer desire and comfort through their latest record of moody synthpop.
8mo
80
Dreijer’s androgynous lyrical delivery toys with sexual innuendo, isolation, and the almost secretive act of connection until the conversation reaches a point in which words are no longer necessary, and the melody tells the rest.
8mo
80
As a whole, this album is a dark, intriguingly sweet electro-pop success.
7mo
80
Fever Ray’s sixth offering is an earnest playground for single drone synths and peppered with percussive syllabic vocals that bubble across the track and act as a sparse melody, giving room for reflection in the afterglow.
8mo
80
Capitalism rarely offers the right conditions for love to blossom, but on Radical Romantics, Dreijer proposes that with time and intention, it might be the one thing that can save us from ourselves.
8mo
80
Wittily exploring desire and relationships, the identity-surfing Swedish star sounds revitalised on their first solo album in six years.
8mo
80
These are the types of songs that it pays to sit with, to sink into, to appreciate. They are exciting and challenging and clearly lovingly crafted. These may not be qualities that are only unique to Fever Ray’s oeuvre but they are qualities that Drejier has captured with authority on all their work and especially here.
8mo
80
Although musically it might be a step back, thematically, Radical Romantics can be seen as a mellow follow-up to the angrier, gender-politics-driven Plunge. Instead, it celebrates self-exploration.
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9mo
80
Where Plunge was a freefall — sweat-drenched, spit-splattered and ferocious, it dove headlong into the euphoria and ripe anger that accompanied Dreijer's unfurling sexual and gender journey — Radical Romantics is the landing, a parachute-softened arrival on new ground.
8mo
80
The enigmatic Swede is back with a skewed take on pop music's favourite topic.
8mo
80
On Radical Romantics, Dreijer wears their heart on their sleeve and delivers their stories of love and lust with classic Fever Ray conviction.
8mo
80
A record which posits the idea of love as an imperative condition for human function.
8mo
80
Scrupulous in its detail, Radical Romantics is both innovative and entertaining, showcasing an original and unique spin on nuanced electro rock with seductive grooves.
8mo
80
Radical Romantics offers enough detail, emotion, and vigour to tide us over until the next inevitable shapeshifting moment.
8mo
80
The Swedish experimentalist uses sharp production and imaginative arrangements to convey the emotions.
8mo
80
Fans may have anticipated another epic like Plunge, but the more approachable, more personal choices Dreijer makes here are often just as risky and just as rewarding.
8mo
80
Love examined anew, ritualised, set with intention and released into the world. Draw the circle, light the incense, and manifest.
8mo
70
Radical Romantics is elastic in its approach to love. Like all of Fever Ray’s best music, it’s deeper than it first appears on the dazzling surface.
8mo
70
Fever Ray’s records may be less boldly subversive than The Knife’s, but there are plenty of artful thrills and pleasures here, notably power-trance anthem “Carbon Dioxide”, the chilly, Depeche Mode-ish “North” and scuzzy, attitudinal disco banger “Even It Out”.
9mo
70
As Fever Ray’s “love album”, it supports their notion that romance, though rich with complexity and deeply rewarding, is not nearly as fun as the immediate rush of lust. The afters is never quite as much fun as the party, but fortunately, in Dreijer’s captivating hands, they still make it sound just as enticing.
8mo
70
A return to form for Karin.
8mo
70
Longtime listeners of Dreijer might find themselves just as delighted to hear new Fever Ray music as they are disappointed in them for not pushing their sonic boundaries as much as they could.
8mo
60
The album implicitly and explicitly tangling with the question of where an artist as singular as Karin Dreijer can go from here.
8mo
60
While love and new realisations have been found, Radical Romantics sounds exactly like a Fever Ray album. Maybe not so radical then.
8mo
A contender for the worst album art I've ever seen, and I'm not even over-exaggerating. I really care about album art, it can really enhance the experience for me, if there's a great cover with a great vibe that matches the music, it paints an immediate picture in my head, and really adds. I don't ever want the picture of this cover to be painted in my head again, it's disgusting asf imo
I had to address that, now what about the songs here? They are definitely better than the cover, that's for ... read more
Kate Bush on ketamine
one great song (shiver), some good ones and some nice ones, overall it was pretty enjoyable, gonna have to check out the rest of their discography
Even though this album is kind of a mixed bag full of strange qualities that I can't make heads or tails of sometimes, I think this album is a return to form for Fever Ray ever since coming out with their excellent Self-titled debut in 2009, nearly 14 years ago at this point lol
There are some parts of this album I found to be pretty laughable, like the song "New Utensils" with the most annoying beats on the entire album, the song "Even It Out" with its strange lyrics about ... read more
I had many of the same issues that I had with the U.S. Girls here. Messy ideas that look good at one point but don’t amount to much, the occasional song with a more clear cut message that’s just forgotten by the next track, lack of memorable moments, even the closer being an unnecessary track with the repetition of the same word/vocalization for way too long was done in both albums. Sound wise it doesn’t give me anything that I would say is extremely fun or captivating, it ... read more
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Track List
| 1 | What They Call Us 4:27 | 78 |
| 2 | Shiver 4:35 | 76 |
| 3 | New Utensils 4:17 | 71 |
| 4 | Kandy 4:07 | 78 |
| 5 | Even It Out 3:07 | 77 |
| 6 | Looking For A Ghost 3:39 | 69 |
| 7 | Carbon Dioxide 4:51 | 83 |
| 8 | North 4:04 | 73 |
| 9 | Tapping Fingers 3:57 | 72 |
| 10 | Bottom Of The Ocean 7:06 | 53 |
Total Length: 44 minutes
Year End Lists
| #4 | / | Bleep |
| #39 | / | Rough Trade UK |
| / | Fopp |
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3w
We're approaching the end of the year and I think it's safe to say that this is the worst cover of 2023
Added on: November 9, 2022