Fever Ray

Donkey Kong Country Core

Holy mouth noises, Batman. Massive recording fail. Minus two stars for the mouth noises. Dang. I think I'd almost be into this if it didn't have any vocals. But the vocal style and the shit-ass-knuckle-dragging-moist-face-juice-dripping vocal recordings are absolutely trash. Also the lyrics are just inane. They include such gems as, "I'm very good with plants. When my friends are away, they let me keep the soil moist." Stupid. And it's honestly a shame because the actual music is layered, nuanced, and interesting.

Icy Scandinavian business. Far more subtle than The Knife but it is an album that reveals more and more with every listen. I am sure there must be an alternative universe out there somewhere in which The Knife were the biggest band on the planet and Fever Ray is the biggest pop star the world has ever known. It's a universe in which I want to live.

This is an album that passed me by because, stupidly, I got Fever Ray and Sugar Ray mixed up and just avoided it. Obviously, it turns out that Fever Ray is better than Sugar Ray.

me: mom can I have bjork? mom: no we have bjork at home bjork at home:

So... what's original about this album? It's like Björk but more annoying and some 15 years later

A prime example of critics losing their minds over something banal.

Minimalist and driving, this album creates a sparse electronic landscape that serves as the ominous backdrop for the oft altered vocals of Karin Dreijer (Fever Ray). This album is compelling and expansive and keeps its creative impulses in check as not to leave the tracks bloated. Simply put, I loved this album.

Je ne peux que remercier Fever Ray pour les moments de nostalgie que m'a offert cet album. Celui-ci s'ouvre sur le générique de la série Vikings, puis enchaîne avec la bande-originale de la série Dark. Sans surprise, c'est le générique de Prison Break qui prend le relai avant que ce ne soit ceux de Friends et d'Une Nounou D'Enfer. Après un court interlude, on entend soudain Michael de la série Ma Famille D'abord dire son cultissime "Euuuh, Non." sous les rires ininterrompus du public. Junior entre à son tour dans la pièce avec Claire et Kady accompagnés d'une série d'applaudissements. Franklin apparaît ensuite et se met à jouer du piano. "Ouuuuh" s'écrie le public. "Euuh, non." répète alors Michael. L'album termine magnifiquement avec un pet de trente secondes.

A perfect winter album… cold, slightly detached, dark, and also utterly exhilarating and captivating.

Voices range from unborn babies to reanimated corpses. Maybe that sounds icky, but it's not. Somehow, it comes from a place of warmth and empathy. Just don't ask me how. The plink-plonk, drip-drop, tip-tap noises probably help. They kind of sound like computers being melted down, which these days is a very comforting image.

Variable electronic music from 2009. Low energy Bjork meets apathy.

this is what you hear in cults

Karin Dreijer is THAT bitch. This was a serve.

An intriguing album, creating a fascinating mood throughout. Rather liked it.

Fever Ray is singular. They're such a bizarre person, super psychedelic and weird and tribal, absolutely immersive music. I'd never heard their debut, and I'm so glad it got suggested. Hypnotic shit.

Loved starting my day with this weird shit. It made my whole day. Been too long since I’ve knifed

This was an unexpected and delightful surprise, because when I saw the artist name, my brain mixed it up with, “Sugar Ray.” This is nothing like Sugar Ray. The album is rich with atmosphere and kept me engaged the entire time. The track, Keep the Streets Empty for Me, was hauntingly familiar, and it painted a montage in my mind of an IRA cell preparing to strike, hoping to avoid collateral damage, and fully expecting they might not come back. I picture Sean Bean as one of the soldiers in their ranks, so their prospects are not good. That track also marks a shift in the tone of the album. The remaining three tracks strike me as a requiem or sorts, as opposed to the subdued energy of the first 2/3 of the album. I will definitely be listening to this album again!

I listened to this album a lot a few years ago. I love the simplicity of both the lyrics and the music, they somehow combine to touch on something very deep.

Right off the bat I'm like I LOVE THIS, midway through the song I realize I've been listening to this for 5 years. It's the intro to Vikings. Can't wait to dig further. OK finished the album and I'm on my second listen. Loved it. Maybe the best thing I've discovered doing this.

Before her debut as Fever Ray, Karin Dreijer was one half of the electronic duo The Knife. Their big claim to fame was the 2002 song "Heartbeats," which was covered soon after by José González. Both versions are amazing and memorable songs. Unfortunately, nothing on "Fever Ray" is quite so memorable. A lot of it feels like a Björk wanna-be. Out of the 8 albums from 2009 that have appeared on the 1001, half have been cut. For one, it again annoys that only 21st-century stuff ever gets removed. But second, here are some 2009 albums that I prefer and would rather got the shine... Neko Case - "Middle Cyclone" St. Vincent - "Actor" Phoenix - "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix" Florence and the Machine - "Lungs" Mumford and Sons - "Sigh No More" Passion Pit - "Manners" Decemberists - "Hazards of Love" And go check out any version of "Heartbeats" if you don't know it.

FUCK this! Sucked my balls. Worst album we’ve heard yet. Fuck whoever included this album.

A spooky and ethereal electronic record. I really loved the dark and brooding vibe this had. Obviously some Björk parallels to be drawn here, for better or for worse, but personally I loved this. Reading some of the other reviews, I see that "If I Had a Heart" was featured as the opening theme to Vikings, and even though I've not watched it, I can see it. One of my musical obsessions lately has been experimental folk with a Nordic vibe, like Heilung's work. That's probably why I like this so much. Overall this is a very good album I'd never heard before. Thanks for the introduction, generator! Favourite: If I Had a Heart

Mezcla de : -música india -cindy lauper -¿electrónico? Está bien.

Klingt als hätten Sinead O‘Connor und Björk nach den finalen Atomschlag zusammen ein Album gemacht und bevor die gute Laune mit ihnen durchzugehen droht, haben sie sich in Büßermönche verwandelt.

Masterpiece.

Hooooly shit. I’m really happy to see them on the list because Silent Shout by the Knife is one of my biggest “wtf why isn’t this on the list” albums, but at least I get this solo project. This is amazing. When I’m powering through the dregs of the list, the endless British mediocrity and cock rock, I need to remind myself that I’ll occasionally hear an album like this. The way they use their voice. This is so, so good. Favourite track: “Keep the Streets Empty for Me”

Two songs in.... This is a very unique sound. Atmospheric, deep sounding. Quite hypnotic. Probably an album I'll save and return to when I need background vibes

En cette matinée, j'ouvrais mon placard pour récupérer l'un de mes bols et ainsi me préparer mon traditionnel flocons d'avoine/graines de lin/cacao, me faisant comme vous le savez office de petit déjeuner depuis maintenant plus d'un an. Quand soudain à ma grande stupeur, au fond de mon bol pourtant nettoyé la veille à l'aide de liquide vaisselle, une petite trace de Fever Ray subsistait. Je ne me demontais cependant surtout pas, et remis un petit coup d'éponge pour apprécier ma collation matinale. Quelques heures plus tard, alors que je selectionnais ma tenue pour mon footing du midi, l'inscription "Nike" présente sur mon short de course avait été remplacé par deux mots. "Fever" et "Ray", encore eux. Je me dis qu'il s'agissait simplement d'une coincidence, et décidait de partir courir en calecon. En revenant de ma course a pied, une douche s'imposait forcement, au vu des temperatures redevenant plus prononcées en ce mois d'août fort peu ensoleillé jusque là. Après avoir rincé la sueur présente sur mon corps, j'aggripais mon gel douche, laissant couler le precieux savon sur mes mains abimées par de nombreuses seances d'escalade, quand soudain, je sursautais: en s'ecoulant, le liquide bleu sortant du flacon avait formé les deux mêmes mots, Fever sur la main gauche, Ray sur la main droite. Et cela se poursuivit toute la journée. Je reçu l'appel d'un client, le denommé Ray Fever a 14h, à 15h c'est un colis délivré par l'entreprise Fever Ray qui m'etait destiné. Fever Ray était absolument partout. C'est un veritable cauchemar que j'ai vécu aujourd'hui, vendredi 6 août 2021, et je ne peux que supplier le generateur de vite me proposer un nouvel album.

laaaangweilig

Boring as all sin

Crazy shit... loved every second of it. Experimental in different ways that reminded me of Björk, Low and Bon Iver, among so many other things. Definitely entered my regular rotation.

Have you ever dreamed of leaving your city job and being a swamp witch? Then this album is for you. I usually associate electronic pop (and Swedish pop) with generic music and shallow lyrics, but this is the complete opposite. Even listening with my simple earbuds that don’t have good bass, I was still impressed by the hypnotic sound. The texts are timeless, and at the same time, they have a powerful, mysterious, ancient folk vibe. Plus, this is one of the rare cases where the album cover did not lie to me about what the music is like and how interesting it is.

Loved it.

I know it's not for everyone, but I love Fever Ray and The Knife. Big fan of the mood the music creates. Full marks.

I’d heard favorably of Fever Ray, but mentally conflated them as Sugar Ray (very different), so I never sought their music out. This appeared as my album today, and I was prepared not to care. A few seconds in, I was like, hey, this is pretty cool, definitely not like Sugar Ray. The vocals kicked in and I thought, wow, this band is really influenced by The Knife. Five seconds later, I was like hold-up, this IS The Knife!!! How did this album slip under my radar for more than a decade? Circa 2009, Silent Shout held a perpetual slot in my car’s cd changer (remember those?). I’ve always held Silent Shout as a perfect album of which I base the quality of all other albums to. My friend even went as far as to say she wanted her eventual funeral to simply be a closed casket listening party of Silent Shout, as these songs could convey to her family and friends everything that she was in life. The Knife albums after Silent Shout have all paled in comparison to me, but suddenly, dropped at my feet, is the true sequel (and equal) to SS. Less dancy and more atmospheric, this achieves everything I would’ve liked in a follow up. Thematically, I even see continuity between songs- think Concrete Walls and From Off to On, both featuring at-home ennui with TVs on at all hours. After only two listens, I know already that I’m adding this to my mental collection of baseline go-tos, right next to Silent Shout. 9th review here, and so glad to have found something so valuable to me so soon. This is the very reason I started following this list.

When the aliens arrive I think they will be listening to this album. There is a strange but appealing feel to it that gets 5 stars or A- as a rating from me.

When I first discovered Fever Ray I was hooked, I devoured everything including The Knife. If I Had a Heart, When I Grow Up, Keep the Streets Empty For Me are certainly standouts on this album but even tracks like Now's the Only Time I Know get stuck in my head.

I'm a huge fan of The Knife and Fever Ray. I love their Swedish electronic weirdness and their witty and sharp lyrics. This album has a lot of dark droning soundscapes, and it feels uniquely Karin versus what she was doing with The Knife. It's darker and more melancholy than her previous work. If you fast forward to today, her Radical Romantics feels almost exactly like The Knife (maybe because her brother contributed to the album). Ahh, I adore this band. I swooned when I saw them perform with Christeene in Austin last year. It was easily my favorite show of the year, and it was the queerest, gayest audience ever. It makes sense given how uniquely strange Fever Ray is. Karin always performs in some sort of freaky character, and there's a good amount of raunch a la John Waters. Excellent album, and I wish The Knife would pop up on this challenge.

Fantastic stuff, dark and atmospheric. Love what they are doing vocally. If you like this you will almost definitely like Holly Herndon, who sounds quite similar in places.

I had never heard of them before. I love it!

I have no idea who Karin dreijer is but they make some great electronica. Heavy, oppressive soundscapes mixed with other more groovy tracks made it a awesome listen all the way through. I get the bjork comparisons but something about it worked for me that I don’t get from bjorks music. If I had a heart is by far my favorite but I also liked when I grow up and triangle walks

Hoy toca escuchar a unx artista que tenía agendadx (no se alarmen con las x: es una manera más simple para definir a alguien queer/no binario). Siempre me gustó The Knife y tiempo después me enteré de la faceta solista de Karin Dreijer: a veces los algoritmos tiran buena data pero entre tanta información recomendada, uno se pierde. Es indudable su presencia y cómo prima la onda The Knife en todo. Disco sumamente introspectivo, colgado: más que la banda. Todo muy etéreo y soñado. Me encantó.

strange but very good ;-)

Mezcla de : -música india -cindy lauper -¿electrónico? Está bien.

Its pretty bloody good. Top of its genre

Absolute Favorite album and artist and everything

Kate bush vibes, passer sykt til høsten

An obvious contemporary to Bjork. Fantastic soundscapes and really Ethereal and lingering vocals bring this all the way into my wheelhouse.

So dark and bleak. The synths bring everything together beautifully. The riffs are minimal and build nicely through each track with great attention paid to every note. It reminds me a bit of some of the below the radar tracks on early 80s Peter Gabriel albums. The songs are well-written and different enough to hold your interest for 50+ minutes. The lyrics are personal, murky and cryptic, full of references to snow and water and streams - like a winter in Sweden. A great album to listen to with Eraserhead running in the background. I didn’t love her use of synthesizers to get a deeper, male-voice, but hey, that was only in 2 or 3 songs and it was the thing twelve years ago, after all.

Liked it back then, still like it.

This is a great album. I loved this one when it came out and listened to it a lot at the time. Excited to see this one come up today, good reminder to give it another round of listening. Have very strong associations with this album and camping in the Olympic National Park in Washington state cause my friends and I sat around all night under a tarp as it rained, playing cards and listening to this album on a bluetooth speaker. I've got to go with 5/5. Standout Tracks: If I Had a Heart, When I Grow Up, Dry and Dusty, Seven, Triangle Walks, Concrete Walls, Keep the Streets Empty for Me, Coconut

I had absolutley no expectaions going into this, and I was very pleasantly surprised. This is an intriguing electronica record that encapsulates the Scandinavian winter perfectly. That is saying something, coming from a Norwegian listening to a Swedish artist. And to all my fellow musician — most of our musical pride and joys took their sound from this, some way or another (probably through Highasakite).

So wild when an album comes up, I think “oh I know this stone cold classic,” and then go to the reviews and people are basically braying like frickin donkeys.

Mezcla de : -música india -cindy lauper -¿electrónico? Está bien.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

One of my most favourite records ever. The mood and the production here are so nice.

This is one of my top favorite albums. 5/5

Loved this album! I wasn't expecting the Vikings theme song to kick off an album on this list, but it is a good song...you never know.

I prejudged this poorly when I saw “Swedish electronic” in the description and I was wrong to do so. This was dark and weird and very cool.

Lawedome synth pop. Loved the vibe

Great fusion of Cranberries meet Type O Negative

heilige bimbam da hani wüki fascht fever becho wills so fire gsi isch trotz zischtig und 5. november für mich scho d'entdeckig vo de wuche, ja sogar vom monet! abgseh vo eim lied nix kännt, aber han scho mindestens 3 neui treui wegbegleiter für d'zuekunft gfunde… und s'werded bim gnauere kennelerne sicher no wiiteri dezuestosse d'frag isch: cha mer em ne album wo mer erst sit eim tag kännt es 5i gäh? und d'antwort isch: ja, anschinend scho, fühlt sich irgendwie gad richtig ah

Idk why I’m so embarrassed to give 5 stars to things that music bros might not give 5 stars. Literally nobody knows who I am on here

Guete morge album klöpp und herzlich willkomme karin :) Fever Ray seid mir nüd uf de ersti blick. Freu mich -vlt chli zu optimistisch - i e neui interpretin ihztauche. 1st track -> Viking Series intro track und lil‘neduz isch hooked. Dur dass und die ganz dramatik vu dem lied bin ich in filmmusik vibe inecho, und das ganze album hed mich uf e reis katapultiert, irgendwo zwüsche 11jhdt bi de wikinger, über 1900er i afrikanische dschungels, zu 1980er Jahr i londoner/berliner fabrikhallene bis zu 2100 space travels. Also wow, villi wunderschöni tracks und es kozept fürs album. Alles was ich hüt brucht han. Danke app, danke ray <3 Und am Namittag das ganze Album grad namal es zweits mal dureglosst. E riese Spass. Somit fraged ihr euch zu recht, gid de lil‘neduz dem album 5 Sternlis? Yes, peps. Es gid 5 Chnebel direkt uf de Trese. —— Ade merci. new artist unlocked

Weirdly loved it

Loved it. Very hypnotic, trance inducing rhythms, melodies and textures. Great vocal processing production. Thought provoking, sentimental, and relatable lyrics

I really enjoyed this one, it's got a great feel. The lyrics are sometimes awkward, but that is easily forgivable. Favorite track: "Keep the Streets Empty For Me."

This is one of my top albums of all time, definitely a desert island album.

This was kinda cool and different. I liked it. Very Kate Bush/Brian Eno type of thing.

not quite bjork, still 5 stars

ambient music with a weird scandanavian woman singing over the top? count me in.

The best album from the decade of the 2000s. Should never have been taken off the list.

Vikings soundtrack lol

Heiligs Kanonerohr! Was brucht mer meh wie en mix us modernem nordischem Volk und de idyllischte elektronische Kläng, mitere Sänger*in wo e Tim Burton Interpretation vode Björk chönd sii? Ich segs eu mini Dame und Herre: Nada! Grandios wie guet mich das Album abholt, und zudem ane no amene unmotivierte Ziistig Morge en saftige Tritt in Arsch git. Life is a Movie wenn mer mit dere Music uf de Ohre dur d Strasse lauft. Da chunt de experimentell-elektronischi Timon uf all sini Chöste! Cinco Puntos para la Tim Burton interpretación de la Björk! Felicidades!!

It's a shame that this and The Knife will always be under-appreciated. The atmosphere throughout this is intoxicating, 'Triangle Walks' and 'Keep The Streets Empty For Me' are the highlights but I couldn't pick a weak song on here if I tried. Just swallows you into it's world.

Mezcla de : -música india -cindy lauper -¿electrónico? Está bien.

Very good

I was so excited to listen to this album again) I wanted to dance and sing and move through my life with a new kind of power

i ate this upppp

I love both their solo stuff and their work with The Knife. The solo stuff definitely has a more haunting, primal energy. I love how stark and dark the beats are, and how androgynous the vocals are made through effects. I've said it before and I'll say it again, 2009 was the best year for indie music.

Apsolutno remek djelo

So good, reminds me the old snowboard days

I’ve never heard of Fever Ray (or The Knives, which seems to be the main band for this artist). This album artwork looks pretty great though! I have fairly high expectations just from the artwork. I want to like an artist that can produce something like that! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Seven, If I Had A Heart, I’m Not Done This album was pretty fantastic. It sounds like what I wanted Björk to sound like when I first listened to her: trippy and weird, but still catchy. I loved the minimalist beats here, with the music mostly being led by the synths rather that a big bass drum. The vocals were primal at times, utilising pitch shifting software to sing high notes as well as demonic lows. I don’t often like much electronic music, and even less experimental, but this was a big hit for me.

A really good find. I dig the electronic sparseness.

Not sure how exactly to put this rating into words... Suffice to say that I like it more than the 4s lol. It's got a dark and kinda unsettling vibe you just won't get outside of The Knife or maybe Joy Division, and I really freakin' dig it. Not gonna be for everyone obviously, but I do find it truly singular.

Marvelous

This has such a great atmosphere and texture, you almost forget there's some solid songcraft at play too. I love Fever Ray, and this is a good reminder as to why.

I love this album

I mean it started with a banger, and the unique energy just didn’t quit. I love music like this, especially while navigating this list. This is why I’m doing this. I prolly would have never of listened to this album otherwise.being a Vikings fan has prolly aided my love for this album. 1. If I Had a Heart 2. Concrete Walls 3. Triangle Walks 4. Seven 5. Now’s the Only Time I Know

This is the reason why i joined this challenge, to discover this weird and different album. Love it .5

I listened to The Knife a lot but never got into this album. Very chill and cool.

I really really got into this. The brooding electronic rhythm and beats are perfectly matched for the bjork-esque vocals. Triangle Walks and Keep the Streets Empty are really strong, though the whole album keeps that vibe and hits for me.

I love this album. Concrete walls is one of my top songs of all time. 7/5

Very nice! Björk-ish but not Björk. Will want to listen again.

инопланетный ведьминский шабаш

Great electronic album, very strong songs: the four singles seem arbitrary choices. Probably the best album of the 2000-2009 decade.

So mint

4 Unique icy sound

I liked it sounded like a dude wanted to make the Hotline Miami soundtrack in the style of Aphex Twin the vocals were consistently annoying but I really liked the production except for the one song that used the marimba I can’t hear the marimba without thinking of that shitty stock music every documentary uses solid 7/10