The Swedish experimentalist uses sharp production and imaginative arrangements to convey the emotions
Like many uncomfortable conversations, Fever Ray’s album ‘Radical Romantics’ begins with an apology. His third album – and first in nearly six years – begins with the bubbling track, ‘What They Call Us’, co-produced and written by his brother and fellow The Knife member, Olof. They bow with a subdued confession in the beginning, “First I’d like to say I’m sorry / I’ve done all the tricks that I could”, rocking it over a slow tempo and raucous drums. The arrangement is sinister and punctuated with ominous lyrics about yearning, questioning and being free in love. Even with its disorienting messages and upbeat composition, the Dredger Duo’s crisp production creates a crisp and biting sonic experience.
It was 2019 when Fever Ray – aka Karin Dreiser – decided to make an album about matters of the heart. Working in the Stockholm studio he built with his brother, the Swedish experimentalist was tasked with delivering 10 imaginative pop songs. The result is a collection of rousing pop vignettes examining love as an engagement, an unrelenting struggle, and most importantly, a myth. ‘Radical Romantics’ follows Dreiser’s self-titled 2009 debut and 2017’s rousing ode to infatuation, ‘Plunge’, which NME ranked as one of the top albums of the year.
The ability of “Radical Romantics” to masterfully communicate Dreger’s perspective on love and relationships is largely thanks to its inventive production. Experimental artist and producer Vessel, Portuguese DJ and producer Nidia are among those who give the album its due. Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross also produce and perform on two album tracks, hinting at their industrial rock expertise for ‘Even It Out’, a menacing track in which Dreijer threatens a school bully, and ‘North’ where the electro-pop singer weighs in on the difficult task of separating one’s words from their actions.
The brightest and most subversive moments on the album come when Dreiser incorporates harsh lyrics and wobbly instrumentals to articulate a range of emotions. ‘Shiver’, a primer on confusing intimate relationships captures this effect perfectly. In the trill track, they repeat “I just want to be touched / I just want to vibrate”, with other howls scattered after that entrance. Dreiser’s perspective, almost like that of an alien looking down on Earth and dissecting interpersonal human relationships from a distance, is also present in ‘Tapping Fingers’, which he calls “the saddest song” he has ever written. written. Testament to ferocious longing takes place against a backdrop of savage sounds, lush synths and personifies romance as an ego-shattering phenomenon.
In ‘Candy’, Dreijers ventures back into The Knife production, even using the same synthesizer that was featured on their track ‘The Captain’. The four tracks co-produced by Olof (‘What They Call Us’, ‘Shiver’, ‘New Utensils’, ‘Candy’) mark the first time the synth-pop duo have joined forces since 2014, and the result is both Fresh and familiar.
The album ends on ‘Bottom of the Ocean’, which Karin produced and wrote alone more than two decades ago. The song comes through with a flood of echoes in the different vocal ranges, just as the ethereal instrumentals form a wall around Dredger’s voice. There’s no song in the track without the sonorous repetition of “Oh,” and it makes for a perfect meditative finale to an album so fantastical in sound as to capture the absolute cataclysmic phenomenon of being human and experiencing love. rings.
Details
- Release date: March 10, 2023
- Record label: Rabid Records
