Cutting Edge

If my two previous post weren't enough evidence that I am more or less obsessed with Sweden at the moment, this one should dissipate all doubts. It would be a crime to comment on the vibrant current Swedish pop scene without mentioning The Knife. Formed by siblings Karin and Olof Dreijer in 1999, The Knife make music that could be described as catchy, yet unconventionally produced, electro-pop. With their mysterious aura (see picture) and subversive attitude towards the media, they remind me a bit of the KLF (early '90s music-revolutionaries who strove to challenge copyright laws by making records consisting almost entirely of samples from existing works). They've been the subject of mostly high praise by critics and pop music bloggers, especially since the release of their almost-instant classic track "Heartbeats". And I guess that would explain my major disappointment when I finally listened to it. That's right, I didn't like it. It's difficult to explain why, I've listened to it several times now and even though I recognize some of the elements I would normally find appealing, I clearly fail to see (or hear) what everybody else seems to love about it. Well, actually that can't be entirely true, or else I probably wouldn't like this version (a live recording, apparently) so much! It basically consists of a synth arpeggio repeating itself (with slight variations) throughout the song, a synth-bass (reminiscent of Berlin's "Take my Breath Away"), and a drum loop. The vocals are a bit, well, difficult at first -I've read a few Bjork comparisons but to me they sound closer to some of the New Wavers like Lene Lovich or Aimee Mann- but after a few listens one realizes how effective they really are, adding to the emotional intensity of the song. Bottom line: pure aceness!