Silent Shout - An Audioivisual Experience [Box set]

The Knife, Sweden's wonderful brother and sister electro group, return with this, their third proper studio album. Despite recent exposure courtesy of a Jose Gonzalez cover version of their song 'Heartbeats' (as well as strangley being championed by Victoria Newton of The Sun), the Knife are still relative unknowns outside of their homeland. For those of you who do know the Knife, however, what a treat is in store for you! Altogether darker than 'Deep Cuts' and their eponymous debut, the multi-layered compositions and voice distortions take on an entirely new level on this album. Although the overall feel is sombre both musically and lyrically ("They said we had a communist in the family, I had to wear a mask" from 'Forest Families'), the Knife still delve into flashes of upbeat electronica, 'We Share Our Mother's Health' sees the Knife return to 'Kino' style territory, an almost-unlistenable mess of beeps that somehow manages to stick together to make a cohesive mess that's challenging and enjoyable. 'Like A Pen' wouldn't be out of place on a dingy indie dancefloor and 'Neverland', features one of the catchiest tunes you'd ever wish to hear. Karin's voice is twisted that way, distorted this way and put through all kinds of treatment, giving every Knife track it's own unique feel (can we say that about the Libertines/Babyshambes/Dirty Pretty Things?) Standout track 'Marble House' reaches the emotional intensity set by 'Heartbeats' from 'Deep Cuts', although a minor niggle is the male vocals on this track - personally he creeps me out a bit, but that's just me. I recently read a review of this album that dismissed it because the reviewer claimed to be a 'guitarophile' and that electro isn't very good. Well. If you can take a chance on something and perhaps be a little more aware that music doesn't have to be confined to one instrument, the Knife would be a good place to start. While indie will always be in my little heart, this album is, as Stingray from Neighbours would say, 'spiggin' awesome', and will always have it's fair share of rotations.

This Swedish electropp dup is still pretty low-profile, though the Knife seem to be following in the footsteps of Broadcast -- eerie, atmospheric, pretty pop music. Third album "Silent Shout" returns to the band's root sounds, after the harder techno of their last album, and it's a breath of electronic fresh air.

It opens with the blippy, spacey beats of the title track, which shimmers all over the place over some heavy grounding beats. A chorus of voices murmur, like a choir of robots. It's a great intro, and it's a big contrast to the song that comes after it -- the ominous, stomping techno of "Neverland."

The rest of the album is an attempt to reconcile the two previous sounds the band has had -- hard techno, and airy electropop. After "Neverland," there are a couple straightforward techno songs that sound like a spacier Autechre, including the robotic "Like A Pen" and the schizophrenic space bleeps of "We Share Our Mothers' Health."

But the majority of these songs are softer and stranger. The Knife dips into spacey experimental music, tropical ambience with eerie yowls, shimmery electropop, ominous lullabies, and one song that sounds like a distress call from a spaceship, set to a soft electronic beat. It winds up with the undulating, whispery "Still Light," which is perhaps the creepiest song of all.

In "Silent Shout," the Knife strike a good balance between techno and experimental soundscapes, which was missing from their previous two albums -- both were good, but they had entirely different music. They've learned moderation, using the harder beats in a softer melody, and also creating dreamy soundscapes that may not get people dancing, but might transport them to another planet.

The harder beats don't even sound catchy -- they sound more like a sonic attack. Other synth gets twisted into kettle drums, pretty shimmers, and eerie sonic walls. Karin's voice is heavily filtered by computers, but this isn't done because it's a bad voice. Rather, it makes the pretty, fragile vocals fit in with the otherworldly music, as she lets out a series of Bjorkian yowls and murmurs.

The Knife would do a great job with the soundtrack to a sci-fi movie, since they already have the right sound -- chilly, eerie and beautiful.

Anyone basing their knowledge of The knife on the fact that recent hit for Jose Gonzalez "Heartbeats" was actually a cover of one of their songs will be gob smacked by "Silent Shout". Excuse me while I get an ice pack for my jaw. I knew they used electronics but nothing had prepared me for the alien textures, insidious alien ambience and ghostly menace of much of "Silent Shout". Not that , that presents a problem for me but if " Heartbeats " led you to expect some diffusely warm pastoral idyll you'll be distinctly un-nerved by the jagged slopes of icy granite and frigid tundra "Silent Shout" leads you to.
Formed by Swedish siblings Olof Dreijer and Karen Dreijer Andersson The Knife have previously released three albums , each an exponential improvement over the last , leading to this , easily the most focused and coherent of their output so far. Melding esoteric contemporary electronic instrumentation with often bizarre vocal styling , particularly those of Andersson ( Whose voice approximates Bjork doing a Kate Bush impression while inhaling helium ) The Knife produce music that presents a challenging listen but nearly always an enjoyable one. That is not easy to achieve. Needless to say they go to far sometimes and occasionally generate something that is not so much challenging as damm near impossible to get the head around. The pitter patter rhythmic nuances of "Like A Pen" drag on to deleterious effect while "From Off To On" is far too nebulous and prosaic.
Happily the majority of the arrangements on "Silent Shout" are melodically bracing while seasoned with that tangible air of the strange yet glamorous. The albums eponymous opening track has spangled keyboards and precision percussion over the hushed vocals. "Neverland" is a potential dance/club crossover with radiant synth swathes and springy rhythmic pulses. "Captain the" has Anderssons voice multi tracked and treated. It's like a hymn from some trans -dimensional frost covered entity. The refracted notes of "We Share Our Mothers Health" boing around like diffuse balls of brittle glitter. The interplay between the vocals is superbly arranged giving the song a compelling dichotomous character. "Na Na Na" centres on a wonderfully effortless keyboard refrain and Anderssons compelling siren voice. "Marble House" is a torch song refracted through a faulty hall of mirrors while "Forest Families" coats a more restrained Andersson vocal in a blanket of bubbling atmosphere and low key dissonance. "One Hit" is tremendous, a track I can only describe as The Butthole Surfers covering Can via The Smurfs. Childish and chilling at the same time. "Still Light" percolates woozy ambience over a deathbed tale of twilight poetry.
Juxtaposing the likes Of "Kid A " Radiohead, dashes of Sigur Ros ,and just about any progenitor of electronic music you care to mention "Silent Shout" is a superb album that falls just shy of being an out and out classic. Despite the preponderance of gloomy techno edges and its other worldly tone "Silent Shout" is a hugely stimulating listen. Shout it from the roof tops, The Knife are on the cutting edge.