I Got a Fever...

Karin Dreijer Andersson, the XX chromosomed half of The Knife, released her self-titled Fever Ray debut available via digital DL earlier this year on Amazon. 3/23 this album goes from magic medium to physical form, and after giving this plenty of time to grow on me, I felt it time to do a review/preview.
Atmospherically drenched in psychotropic ennui, the first few tracks titillate and draw the listener further into an eerie and anxious setting. Influences of the aforementioned Knife collaboration seep in and out, but fail to penetrate the core of this project. I feel her presence upon relistenings of Silent Shout, and it's interesting clamoring through an artists solo work to determine exactly what he or she brings to the table.
While the album fails to disappoint even the truest of blue fans, I can't help but find a monotony that saturates the tracks upon repeated listenings. The overutilization of the creepy voice machine, leaves a bitter taste of qualude inspired vocals, where her natural (albeit quirky) vocals would suffice. The percussion as well, while initially engaging and inspired, end up a mix of recycled haunting tom toms, and mystic xylophones.
Where this album wins out is the inherent Gothic undertones, the nightmare dreamscapes, and the lucid dream tones this release perpetuates throughout. The flow is constant, and nothing seems out of place. The masterful use of soundstage found in The Knife's - Silent Shout is minimal at best on this solo effort, but few albums do such a good job taking full advantage of my home audio setup that costs more than I'd like to admit. The mastering is adequate, but most of the tricks suffer from overexposure.
This may be easily one of the best releases to come out of the 1st quarter of '09, and is well worth the purchase in any of it's digital formats.