Fever Ray: s/t

Label: Mute

Artistically perhaps the biggest record of the year, Fever Ray‘s self-titled debut is the sound of one Knife cutting. Of course, this isn’t your standard debut – Fever Ray is Karin Dreijer Andersson, the sister half of Swedish sibling duo the Knife. Like that outfit’s Silent Shout, Fever Ray is composed of primarily electronic materials and moods, but the vantage point is, to state the obvious, more singular. The first track, “If I Had a Heart” (find the video online and watch it – now!), marks the charcoal depths of Andersson’s m.o., but the ten songs cast their gaze around a wide world of shadows and illuminated nights. Together with a handful of hotly anticipated live shows, this album made Fever Ray one of the most talked-about artists of 2009. Highly recommended for fans of the early Mute and 4AD rosters, as well as *Björk*’s prettier moments and, naturally, the Knife. (M.L. Thrope)