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Avg: 4.5 (59 ratings)
- Date Released: July 25, 2006
- Genre: Electronic
- Label: Rabid / V2 Records
The Knife pen their masterpiece.
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We Say...
As Jose Gonzalez proved with his cover of "Heartbeats," underneath all of the synthesized steel drums, warped melodies and non-traditional vocal stylings of Karin Dreijer Andersson, the Knife is a pop band — plain and simple. "Heartbeats" was a standout among Deep Cuts, a blast of pure pop perfection with just enough of an edge to win over the indie snobs as well. Silent Shout, the follow-up to Deep Cuts, is full of these sorts of moments and it's very nearly a modern masterpiece.
Olof Dreijer is responsible the consistency found on Shout. He programs those signature steel drums and crafts the claustrophobically expansive (a contradiction that makes sense on Silent Shout) backing tracks for his sister to move over, in and around. The mood-setting title track, the kinetic "We Share Our Mother's Health" and the propulsive elastic house of "Like a Pen" were all well received singles, but it's on (ahem) deep cuts like "One Hit," where the group trades cool for an oompah-style stomp or the pre-pubescent-on-helium singing of "Na Na Na" that the Olof's talent truly shines. Defiantly un-pop in their sound palette, they work like Japan's "Ghosts," enforcing their catchy will through a minimum of elements — and a whole lot of suggestion. For the Knife, it's just as often about what's in the music, as what's not in it. -
They Say...
The remoteness of the Knife (aka Olof and Karin Dreijer) and the chilliness of their music makes it easy to conjure up images of the duo working in a studio that resembles the Fortress of Solitude, playing instruments carved out of ice. But if the vibrant pop of Deep Cuts was like the northern lights, then Silent Shout is a sunless, vast expanse of tundra. A much darker, more ambitious set of songs than the Knife's previous work, the album finds the Dreijers stretching their sonics and downplaying the overt poppiness of Deep Cuts and The Knife. But, while Silent Shout isn't as whimsical or immediate as the Knife has been in the past, it's just as inventive, if not more so. Karin Dreijer's vocals are more striking than ever; treated as another instrument in the arrangements, they're layered, pitch-shifted, and tweaked until there's almost nothing left but tones and emotions. Her tweaked whispers on "Silent Shout" add to the song's pulsing, restrained, but very real menace; on "Na Na Na," she sounds like an alien diva. Likewise, Karin's whimsical, detailed lyrics also have a darker cast, offering glimpses of strange people in stranger situations. "From Off to On" deals with voyeurism and TV addicts; on "Like a Pen," Dreijer describes a character's struggle with body issues with disturbing clarity: "Sharpen my body like a pen...something too small for a lens." Many of the album's songs -- especially "Forest Families," "The Captain," and "Still Light" -- have a hushed, eerie intensity, but Silent Shout also sets off flares of emotion against its frosty backdrops. The fantastic single "We Share Our Mother's Health" is sleek yet chaotic, with marauding vocals set against frantic synths and beats that sound like the aural equivalent of blood bouncing on ice. The equally fantastic but completely different-sounding "Marble House" -- which was inspired by the classic French film The Umbrellas of Chebourg -- embodies doomed romance with its gliding melody and brittle castanet rhythms. The Knife eventually shows off its more playful side with the lumbering, cartoonishly macho "One Hit," which gives the album's sinister bent a mischievous twist. Truly unique -- even for a group as different as this one is -- Silent Shout is the Knife's most compelling work yet.
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| 01. |  |
Silent Shout |
4:53 |
|
| 02. | |
Neverland |
3:38 |
|
| 03. | |
The Captain |
6:08 |
|
| 04. | |
We Share Our Mother's Health |
4:11 |
|
| 05. | |
Na Na Na |
2:27 |
|
| 06. | |
Marble House |
5:18 |
|
| 07. | |
Like A Pen |
6:13 |
|
| 08. | |
From Off To On |
3:58 |
|
| 09. | |
Forest Families |
4:08 |
|
| 10. | |
One Hit |
4:27 |
|
| 11. | |
Still Light |
3:15 |
|
11 Total Tracks, 48:36 Total Length
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Credits
- Pelle Gunnerfeldt - Mixing // Jay Jay Johanson - Vocals // Henrik Jonsson - Mastering // Christopher Berg - Mixing
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