With The Knife, Andersson sang like she was sat on a blade’s edge – here, she’s exploring a deep murk, arms outstretched. Most would be terrified, but Karin presses on, full of wicked confidence.

Full Review

Best of 2009

Worst of 2009

Recent Reviews

10y

That the Knife's 2006 breakthrough Silent Shout didn't set the dominoes on a series of similarly grotesque and unnatural sounding imitators is less an indictment on its impact than a comment on its inimitability. The current apex of ten years' collaboration between siblings Karin Dreijer Andersson and Olof Dreijer, it's one of a handful of albums from the past decade that one might argue sounded like nothing before it. In the three years since, the Dreijers have treaded lightly, touring and remixing in carefully managed bursts before quietly receding back into silence altogether.

10y

10y

10y

10y

12mo

User Reviews

View All

RakkSmells

[Genre: Electropop]

It might not have hit me immediately but once I started letting it sink in over time... my god, was it worth checking this out. This is great.

Fever Ray is the solo project of Karin Dreijer from The Knife, an electropop turned experimental industrial pop group that I discovered through Shaking The Habitual, one of my favourite albums from 2013. I was just absolutely taken back by how bizarre, haunting and detailed the album was, and while this doesn't sound anything like ... read more

11mo*

MiaWatterson

(This was a @ricardomcr's suggestion!)
Fever Ray's self-titled is an evocative, ethereal, deep and mysterious record. I'm fascinated with how minimalistic and (in contrast) textured this album sounds, it's concrete yet abstract. The aesthetics are really dark and haunting. The voice is very charismatic, expressive and powerful.
I love how the beats get involved with the synths and the remaining part of the intrumental so well, it carries a good vibe. The production is great, the organization ... read more

2y*

fakeplasticrose

30 seconds into the first track I got goosebumps. 30 seconds from the end I still had them. This thing is absolutely damn beautiful and one of the best pop records of the 2000s, if not of all time. Minimalist yet maximal in detail, with some of the most hauntingly beautiful vocals I've heard since Vespertine. The only thing holding this back from getting an even higher score is the fact that occasionally tracks get slightly redundant, yet nonetheless fantastic.

Felix_96

7/10

good

Fav tracks: If I Had a Heart, When I Grow Up, Seven, Triangle Walks, Now's the Only Time I Know, I'm Not Done, Keep the Streets Empty For Me, Coconut

5mo

Pinball Gizzard

I'm glad I can relisten to this and still feel like I'm lost in a new dream. Something tells me that we'll look back on this record and claim it as an underappreciated gem in the future.

More user reviews

Purchasing Fever Ray from Amazon helps support Album of the Year. Or consider a donation?