The Knife
Deep Cuts

THE REVIEW

Those who approached The Knife thanks to "Silent Shout" cannot help but be very confused when listening to their previous work, "Deep Cuts". There are now several musical groups or solo musicians who adhere to the philosophy of never repeating themselves. The first ones that come to my mind right now are Daft Punk, always staying in that vast field which is electronica. This can be more or less pleasing, playing in new genres and subgenres, depending on the individual, but without a shadow of a doubt, one must give credit to those who choose to challenge themselves with each new album.

Having said that, those approaching "Deep Cuts" expecting cold and dark, properly Nordic atmospheres may be disappointed. This album, in many respects, can be said to be the opposite of those atmospheres found in the aforementioned last work dated 2006. Starting with Karin Dreijer's voice. In many tracks, the singer's voice is almost that of a cheeky child, spoiled, mocking; a timbre very far from that present in the Royksöop single "What Else Is There?" (for those who do not know: the Royksöop single is indeed sung by Karin Dreijer) which will then be present throughout "Silent Shout".

The album kicks off with "Heartbeats", a great piece that makes you tap your foot to the beat, whether you like it or not, evidence that the two siblings have real strokes of genius. Some may know this song in José González's acoustic guitar version. Even the video (another important field for The Knife) is a great piece, highly recommended viewing. After this pleasant and immediate start, the mood changes completely, and the quality drops a bit with the following songs: "Girl's Night Out" and "Pass This On". "One For You" presents atmospheres that will be present in the next album, here Karin has a monotonous, low voice. A sort of short interlude, sung or "recited" by the completely distorted voice of Olof, "breaks" the album. After this pause, the beginning of "Listen Now" surprises the listener again, with its immediately pounding base; here Karin returns to being a spoiled child who is silenced by the usual cavernous voice of her brother singing the lullaby "She's Having A Baby". One of the few relaxing moments on this album. This is followed by "You Take My Breath Away", which puts the album back in motion and brings it closer to a possible dance hall. "Rock Classic" is the longest song: a minimal base, Karin's low and sensual voice that rises in pitch in the second half of the song, playing with high and low tones, only to return as at the beginning of the track in the last minute. A great piece, one of the best on the album. Now here comes the fun part, the song that amuses me the most and makes me laugh, which is "Is It Medicine"; and to say that it makes you want to jump is an understatement. This song, if played at high volume as it should be, is pure adrenaline. "Is it medicine, is it medicine, is it medicine or social skills" The music video they made is wonderful, also recommended. Then there is "You Make Me Like Charity," and it almost sounds like listening to a boy and a girl talking to each other; "Got 2 Let U", which I think can be inferred already from how the title is written, seems almost a pure game: funny voices, distorted thanks to technology and simply loaded by the two Swedes, it's almost the song itself that says: "Don't take me seriously." "Behind The Bushes" is only music. There are no voices, electronic sounds, or distortions: the strings take center stage in this track, followed by flutes; it all gives an almost medieval atmosphere, I would dare to say. A sudden little gem, the last thing you would expect to find in an album like this. The record closes with Olof taking the lead in less than a minute of song.

"Deep Cuts" almost seems like a game: various registers can be found, it jumps from an adrenaline-filled song to an instrumental one, from funny voices to serious and low ones, and others still sensual. It's hard for an album like this to bore, on first listen everything is a continuous surprise; a work done with care and studied in detail, well-balanced songs that always keep the attention of those truly willing to listen. Boredom with this album is far away.