Originally released in March, Fever Ray marks the solo debut of Karin Dreijer Andersson of Swedish brother and sister duo The Knife. Largely inspired by Andersson’s recent experiences of motherhood, the lyrics also manage to cover insomnia, domestic paranoia, an attack of music industry ageism and an ode to dishwasher tablets. Although it uses many of the same components of her band’s style, including childlike lyrics and androgynous synthesised voices the album offers a more accessible listen than The Knife’s records as it strips back on their occasional abrasiveness.
Re-issuing the album seven months after its original release may seem cynical, however the timing does make sense as its Scandinavian iciness suits autumnal gloom more than spring sunshine, and with Andersson deciding to end the project after her current tour the newly packaged set offers the opportunity to own practically everything recorded under the Fever Ray name. The deluxe edition adds bonus cover versions of Nick Cave’s Stranger than Kindness and Vashti Bunyan’s Here Before, unfortunately both merely feel tacked on. Kindness’ literate and darkly sexual lyrics don’t fit well with the rest of the album and are buried under layers of electronic fuzz, whereas Here Before complements Andersson’s maternal theme, but her musical take on the song sounds thin and throwaway.
A more worthwhile addition is the DVD including every video shot for the project. As demonstrated by their extraordinary live show, involving lasers, a multitude of table lamps and costumes from a disturbed child’s dressing up box evoking the feel of a rave organised in Twin Peaks, the act has a very strong visual sense (although the live show is only represented by a short promotional video for the tour). The music videos feature images of shamanism, witchcraft and some bizarre animal husbandry, finally culminating in Stranger than Kindness which, working much better as a video than on CD, reintroduces elements from each of the proceeding videos to provide a fitting epilogue to the project.