Welcome back to Record of the Week. Two months of the year nearly done with and we just keep on rolling, no matter how awful everything is. Let's get to this record, it's Fever Ray's excellent self-titled debut album from 2009 (thank you, Randomizer). This is the copy that's on my turntable as I type this.
Though the album was released in March of 2009, I first got a taste of this around the end of 2008. A group of friends had decided to go to Mexico for a long New Year weekend. The plan was to meet at a friend's in LA and then drive down. I got to Joe's place and we caught up, grabbing dinner and a couple drinks. It was a weirdly cold with a damp fog. Kinda unusual for LA, which is probably why I remember it so distinctly.
Later we were talking about whatever bands we were listening to, because that's what we do. Joe kinda jumps up and starts talking about a new song that got posted earlier in the day, while I was driving down. He told me Karin from The Knife had a new band/project called Fever Ray and the first single, If I Had a Heart, was now out there.
At this point, The Knife hadn't been heard from since their remarkable 2006 album, Silent Shout. So this was some welcome news. Joe found the posting and clicked play on the song. Those sinister opening notes instantly hooked me, I was pretty much all in right then and there.
Speaking of Silent Shout, it's an unusual coincidence that the Randomizer gives us Fever Ray. Silent Shout just turned 20 last week (this Stereogum article is a really good read) and I've been listening to it here and there. It's such an incredible album. Dark. Pulsating. Alien. If you haven't heard it, please look it up.
To me, Fever Ray is sorta the same as Silent Shout, except slowed down. Still dark. Haunting. Sinister. Atmospheric. Almost a little creepy, and simply cool as fuck. I saw them on this tour, too, it was stellar. This is a really great album worth listening to, and with The Knife permanently done, Fever Ray will be carrying the torch for now, until they're not. Definitely give this one a spin.