Fever Ray: Fever Ray

Artist: Fever Ray
Album: Fever Ray
Date Released: March 24, 2009
Genre: indie electronic
Rating: 8.8

Review: Fever Ray is the solo project of Karin Dreijer, lead vocalist of the electronic music duo The Knife. Well, calling it a 'solo project' is not entirely fair; Dreijer is getting help from co-producers Christoffer Berg, Van Rivers and the Subliminal Kid. The end result is a sound not too dissimilar from what Knife fans have come to expect.

But as Fever Ray, Dreijer is able to explore a sonic space with much darker and eerie overtones. The album is an intimate and spooky journey that's as distinctive as anything bound to come out this year. Dreijer's vocals are intermixed with brooding electronic swells and an often minimalist percussive arrangement. Fever Ray's extremely tasteful use of sonic space adds to the album's over all intimate tone and its hints at alienation.

One of my favorite lyrics are featured in "Seven":

I've got a friend who I've known since I was seven
We use to talk on the phone, if we have time, if it's the right time

Accompany me by the kitchen sink
We talk about love, we talk about dishwasher tablets, illness
And we dream about heaven

Definitely one of the year's best.