What does Fever Ray sound like?

Electronic freakdom and sensuality wrapped up in a forbidden fruit for the dancefloor.

The review of ‘The Year of the Radical Romantics’ by Fever Ray

Following on from Fever Ray’s 2023 tour, ‘The Year of the Radical Romantics’ is a live-to-tape document of that tour, and the three studio albums to date. This album is a recording of the live reworkings and reimaginings of much-loved songs. Over the course of these albums, but in particular 2017’s ‘Plunge’ and 2023’s ‘Radical Romantics’, we’ve been introduced to various personas that embody different personality traits. The premise appears to be that these characters have gone to therapy, but if anything, they’ve become more emboldened versions of themselves. If you aren’t interested in the character work, the album requires none of it, but it’s worth watching the music videos for more unhinged fun.

This album takes 12 tracks from Fever Ray’s back catalogue and gives them a sonic party treatment. Most songs have been extended, and almost all the songs have a meatier, club pulse that throbs underneath. This turns tracks like ‘When I Grow Up’ and ‘I’m Not Done’ into bangers. ‘I’m Not Done’ and ‘Now’s The Only Time I Know’ get a live treatment and a “therapy session” version to bring the track total to 14. The differences are quite minimal. The therapy session versions are produced to give the bass more weight, as the brightness is reduced. The as-live versions are brighter, and the live drums are less dubby.

Kudos must be given to Fever Ray for how the track selection rolls on like a seamless setlist. It isn’t seamless in the truest sense, but it reminds me of MegaMix albums that do a continuous mix of an album, so no one has an excuse to stop dancing. The techno elements of tracks like ‘Carbon Dioxide’ and ‘To The Moon and Back’ feel visceral. ‘New Utensils’ makes the synths even more squidgy and childlike, whilst the kitchen sink percussion emphasises the abandon of the live performance. ‘Even It Out’ goes full trash rock with its sleazy synthrock shouting its way over the nightmare soundtrack in a way that Marc Almond would be proud of. ‘Shiver’ and ‘Kandy’ have that wiry, mid-tempo weirdness that The Knife aspired to in its full glory.

Whilst the party element is in full swing, the vocals are on point, too. ‘Live at Troxy’ showcases this already, but the in-studio live recording gives the layered vocals of the live band more clarity. Two standouts come from the quieter, dark ambient corners of the album. ‘What They Call Us’ is kept like a contorted nightmare of horror ambience, whilst Karin Dreijer’s androgynous approach to vocal treatments stretches her vocal chords about 5 octaves, it seems. The album closes out with the iconic ‘If I Had A Heart’, which chimes in like the witching hour and whisper-growls under your skin. Heavy, oppressive, and aching, it’s a fitting closer.

No one does dark and wet quite like Fever Ray. Long may it continue. Whether we see these characters and this set-up for live performances again, time will tell. If that concludes this era for Fever Ray, ‘The Year of the Radical Romantics’ is a top-tier souvenir of an entrancing and innovative live performance. If you’ve never listened to Fever Ray before, this is a good place to start. It’s like a reimagined best of.

Recommended track: I’m Not Done (Therapy Session)

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