Fever Ray

So I just recently gave a few listens to an album I mentioned in one of my "things to look forward to" posts, the self-titled debut by Fever Ray, aka Karin Dreijer Andersson of Swedish electronic duo The Knife (it's out now digitally and I think in stores in March.) The more I let it sink in, the better I feel about it as a record, and now I'd like to take the opportunity to share my newfound excitement with you all.

Though the album art is extremely ugly and unappealing, the music is quite the opposite. The repetitive synthesized elements that characterized most of The Knife's work are also found here, yet more natural percussion is also included on some tracks, forming a concoction that is actually surprisingly similar to Animal Collective's "My Girls". While that alone could make for a good album, the real key with Fever Ray is Andersson's off-kilter, piercing vocals. She uses effects similar to Laurie Anderson's vocoder manipulations, and similarly has two separate "voices": one shockingly smooth and deep and the other her usual screechings. The layering of the two works beautifully and creates a richer, more lush feeling for each pop melody.

Most of the tracks are actually really good, but I guess my top picks would have to be "When I Grow Up," "Triangle Walks," and "I'm Not Done." Definitely one of the better releases so far this year, which I guess isn't saying much but whatever. Happy listening!

Looking Forward

So, after finishing off an amazing year in the music business, the time has come to start anew. Each year, I start off thinking that the previous year would never be topped. After 2007's slew of new releases from really important artists such as The Shins, Modest Mouse, Panda Bear, Stars, etc., I was expecting 2008 to be a bit less active. Now, sitting at the front end of '09, I've been thinking that it can only be downhill from the fantastic albums I just finished describing with my year-end posts.

To get my spirits up, I've been doing research to find out what might be exciting in 2009, and, to my surprise, I found a whole lot to look forward to. Here's 10 things that will (hopefully) get Baby New Year started off on the right foot to beat its older brother:

1. Starting the year off right is Merriweather Post Pavilion, a new full-length from my favorite band, Animal Collective. Though it's already out on vinyl and digitally (I actually just finished giving it a first listen, but I'll save my thoughts for later), the CD doesn't hit US shelves until January 20th, so there're still two more weeks of eager anticipation.

2. A double EP from another favorite, Beirut, is scheduled for release in February. It's called March Of The Zapotec/Holland, and the first is influenced by Zach Condon's trip to Mexico while the second will have more of an electronic sound (according to a reliable source, Wikipedia.)

3. A Modest Mouse EP featuring outtakes from the two most recent albums, We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank and Good News For People Who Love Bad News, is in the works. Modest Mouse EPs are usually about the length (and top the quality) of almost any other band's studio albums, so I'll bet it'll be worth the wait.

4. The follow-up to So This Is Goodbye by Junior Boys is slated for release in "early 2009." It's as of yet untitled but I'm sure it's going to be brilliant.

5. Similarly, Menomena is working on a follow-up to Friend And Foe and plan to release it sometime in 2009.

6. The Flaming Lips, after finishing their movie project Christmas On Mars, plan to release a follow-up to At War With The Mystics and said it can be ready for release as early as June.

7. Hazards Of Love by The Decemberists will hit stores in April. I'm not sure how excited I am about this one, however, seeing as the songs on their Always A Bridesmaid singles series were extremely underwhelming.

8. Dan Deacon's follow-up to 2007's Spiderman Of The Rings, Bromst, will hit shelves in March.

9. Dogs Die In Hot Cars, as part of their 2nd album project, will be challenging fans to mix and touch up the 17 song demos they've posted on their website. Sometime this year, they'll choose their favorites and release them as the follow-up to 2004's Please Describe Yourself.

10. Two new artists that sound fairly exciting will be releasing debuts in the near future: Dreijer Andersson of Swedish electronic group The Knife will be releasing a solo album in February under the name Fever Ray while Sholi, an experimental/psych-folk group likened to Xiu Xiu, will be releasing a self-titled album the same month.

On top of all of that, old friends Joanna Newsom and Sufjan Stevens are both long overdue for a new full-length, so keep your fingers crossed that they'll get their act together before the year ends. Also, Grizzly Bear have been working on a follow-up to their mini-masterpiece, Yellow House. And, Deerhoof and Bradford Cox of Deerhunter and Atlas Sound have been releasing albums like crazy every year of recent history, so what's to stop them from continuing their trend into 2009?