Fever Ray - Fever Ray

If you follow Electronic music you have undoubtedly heard of the Swedish Brother/Sister duo, “The Knife”. Siblings Olof and Karin Andersson have been pushing dance music to the corners of accessibility for the better part of a decade. In October, sister Karin announced a solo project that would come to be known as Fever Ray.

The self-titled debut from Fever Ray is an ambitious attempt to capture the modern atmosphere of a world moving into uncharted disarray. The opening track “If I had a heart” (aptly named, I might add) sets the album’s mood with a robotic heartbeat, steady but human-less. The first words from Karin’s very altered voice, “This will never end because I want more” repeats several times. The theme of greed as a destructive force is very prevalent through out the entire album.

The entire sonic landscape of the album is grey, bleak and at times even monotonous. It is not a stretch to imagine the entire album being recorded during a long Scandinavian winter. However, Fever Ray does have a few uplifting moments. After all, Miss Andersson’s voice is, at times, very beautiful. “Seven” breaks through the foggy tedium like a Cocteau Twins anthem. The light rarely shines through the clouds on Fever Ray, but when it does it is pretty special.

Andersson’s surprising attention to detail and interesting instrumental arrangements (Bamboo flutes, wind chimes, and keyboards) make for quite a journey. The songs all seem to demonstrate power in the face of adversity and that power is very attractive. The album ends as it begins, with a steady, artificial heartbeat. Andersson may even be suggesting that we will pick ourselves up again and survive. Not all doom and gloom, right?

The bulk of Fever Ray is unified with a hazy buzz. This dreariness may, at first, be off putting. Although Fever Ray is not perfect, don’t let her implications of fear and uncertainty suck the life out of this album for you. What might seem like a darkly themed album turns out to be quite beautiful and even inspirational. With some one-on-one attention and a little patience Fever Ray blossoms into a great listen.


1. Album as a whole- 17
2. Listen in 7 days- 16
3. Originality- 15
4. Advancement- 16
5. Buyer's remorse- 16

Total Album Rating- 80