Fever Ray appears on the upcoming Red Riding Hood soundtrack with a new song called “Wolf.” Other notable tracks include the previously released “Keep The Streets Empty For Me,” also by Fever Ray, and “Let’s Start An Orchestra,” co-written by Ken Andrews (Failure, ON, Year of the Rabbit). You can download “Wolf” by Fever Ray here or stream it below [via LosAmateurs].
We knew we were in for a treat when Fever Ray shared the fucked up cover art for her cover of Peter Gabriel’s “Mercy Street.” She played the song live throughout her tour, but the studio version is a reimagining of Gabriel’s 1986 track. You can download “Mercy Street” by Fever Ray here or stream it below:
If you don’t already own Fever Ray’s magnificent debut album, your music collective has serious credibility issues. Fortunately, Amazon US Daily Deal is offering an MP3 download of the album for $2.99 (today only). You can order Fishpork’s second favorite album of 2009 here.
It was another full year of remarkable live shows in 2009, which was also not immune to a few train wrecks (Enon, Dan Deacon). Whether it was a cold and rainy night in Philly to see White Lies overcome a historically shitty venue to play a show for the ages or a late night train ride to the East Village to see Karin Dreijer Andersson’s Fever Ray outfit put on a visually stunning performance, this past year reinforced our music fandom. Here’s a list of our favorite shows of 2009:
Least Favorite:
This year really didn’t end up being that “greatest of the decade” as January-March may have suggested. With that said, our favorite tracks list became very album-heavy as it evolved throughout the year. With seven tracks from Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear in the top 20, you kinda get the point. Here is our very biased list of favorite tracks from 2009:
2009 started off as one of the strongest years for music in the decade but then slipped into a summer that left us scratching our heads and yearning for more. An impressive set of Fall releases surprised their way onto our Favorites List and cemented 2009 as a year that will impress music lovers in retrospect. These are our favorite albums from the past year:
1. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
2. Fever Ray – Fever Ray
3. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
4. Fuck Buttons – Tarot Sport
5. Built to Spill – There Is No Enemy
6. Atlas Sound – Logos
7. Morrissey – Years of Refusal
8. Dredg – The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion
9. White Lies – To Lose Your Life
10. Moderat – Moderat
11. The Mars Volta – Octahedron
12. MC Rut – Middle Class Rut
13. Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
14. Great Northern – Remind Me Where The Light Is
15. HEALTH – Get Color
16. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
17. The Flaming Lips – Embyronic
18. Bat For Lashes – Two Suns
19. Isis – Wavering Radiant
20. Royksopp – Junior
Most Disappointing Albums:
This is an attempt at the impossible. Here are our 100 favorite songs of the past decade (featuring multiple tracks from Animal Collective, The Knife, Radiohead, and Elliott Smith). Our top two choices are more like 1a and 1b. Be patient, as the page needs to load the embedded songs.
1. Panda Bear – “Bros” (2007)
2. The Knife – “We Share Our Mother’s Health” (2006)
3. Animal Collective – “For Reverend Green” (2007)
4. Grizzly Bear – “While You Wait For The Others” (2009)
5. The Knife – “Heartbeats” (2003)
6. Grizzly Bear – “The Knife” (2005)
7. LCD Soundsystem – “Someone Great” (2007)
8. TV on the Radio – “Staring at the Sun” (2003)
9. Crystal Castles – “Crimewave” (2008)
10. Beirut – “Ciloqut” (2007)
11. Thom Yorke – “Harrowdown Hill
12. Animal Collective – “Derek” (2007)
13. Nine Inch Nails – “Me, I’m Not” (2007)
14. Beck – “Lonesome Tears” (2002)
15. At The Drive-in – “One Armed Scissor” (2004)
16. Animal Collective – “Grass” (2005)
17. Deerhunter – “Nothing Ever Happened” (2008)
18. Atlas Sound – “Recent Bedroom” (2008)
19. Panda Bear – “Comfy in Nautica” (2007)
20. System of a Down – “Chop Suey” (2001)
21. Animal Collective – “Peacebone” (2007)
22. Battles – “Atlas” (2007)
23. Error – “Jack the Ripper” (2004)
24. Enon – “Pleasure and the Privilege”
25. Elliott Smith – “Son of Sam” (2000)
26. Animal Collective – “Did You See the Words” (2005)
27. The Knife – “Marble House” (2006)
28. LCD Soundsystem – “All My Friends” (2007)
29. Thom Yorke – “Analyse” (2006)
30. The Flaming Lips – “Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell” (2002)
31. Girl Talk – “Smash Your Head” (2006)
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32. A Perfect Circle – “Judith” (2000)
33. Radiohead – “Idioteque” (2000)
34. Tapes N’ Tapes – “Manitoba” (2006)
35. TV On The Radio – “I Was A Lover” (2006)
36. Radiohead – “Reckoner” (2007)
37. Fever Ray – “Coconut” (2009)
38. Animal Collective – “My Girls” (2009)
39. Built to Spill – “Things Fall Apart” (2009)
40. Wilco – “I’m Trying to Break Your Heart” (2002)
41. Modest Mouse – “Tiny Cities Made of Ashes” (2000)
42. Animal Collective – “Leaf House” (2004)
43. Modeselektor – “Happy Birthday” (2007)
44. Arcade Fire – “Wake Up” (2004)
45. Autolux – “Blanket” (2004)
46. MGMT – “Time to Pretend” (2007)
47. Built to Spill – “Conventional Wisdom” (2006)
48. Wilco – “Side With the Seeds” (2007)
49. Elliott Smith – “Happiness/The Gondola Man” (2000)
50. Avey Tare – “I’m Your Eagle Kisser” (2007)
51. Department of Eagles – “Waves of Rye” (2008)
52. Animal Collective – “Summertime Clothes” (2009)
53. Radiohead – “2+2 = 5″ (2003)
54. Dredg – “Sang Real” (2005)
55. While Lies – “Farewell to the Fairground” (2009)
56. Grizzly Bear – “Ready, Able” (2009)
57. Matisyahu – “King Without a Crown” (2005)
58. Modest Mouse – “Paper Thin Walls” (2000)
59. Dillinger Escape Plan – “When Good Dogs Do Bad Things” (2002)
60. Elliott Smith – “Twilight” (2004)
61. Deerhunter – “Flourescent Grey” (2007)
62. Holy Fuck – “Lovely Allen” (2007)
63. LCD Soundsystem – “Never As Tired As When I’m Waking Up” (2006)
64. The Notwist – “Boneless (Panda Bear Remix)” (2008)
65. Liars – “Nothing Is Ever Lost or Can Be Lost My Science Friend” (2004)
66. The Mars Volta – “Inertiatic E.S.P.” (2003)
67. The Notwist – “Solitaire” (2002)
68. Of Montreal – “The Past is a Grotesque Animal” (2007)
69. Queens of the Stone Age – “Tangled Up in Plaid” (2005)
70. Radiohead – “Jigsaw Falling Into Place” (2007)
71. Saul Williams – “Raised To Be Lowered” (2007)
72. Autolux – “Great Days for the Passenger Element” (2004)
73. Sigur Ros – “Untitled 8″ (2002)
74. Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs – “Maps” (2003)
75. Portishead – “Threads” (2008)
76. Sufjan Stevens – “Chicago” (2005)
77. Ugly Casanova – “Things I Don’t Remember” (2002)
78. Animal Collective – “Brothersport” (2009)
79. Radiohead – “Pyramid Song” (2001)
80. Nine Inch Nails – “Only” (2005)
81. El-P – “Flyentology” (2007)
82. Queens of the Stone Age – “No One Knows” (2002)
83. Ghostface Killah – “Shakey Dog” (2006)
84. Modest Mouse – “Missed the Boat” (2007)
85. UNKLE – “Persons and Machinery” (2007)
86. Amon Tobin – “Verbal” (2002)
87. The White Stripes – “Denial Twist” (2005)
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88. Tomahawk – “Captain Midnight” (2003)
89. Modest Mouse – “Bukowski” (2004)
90. Sigur Ros – “Hoppipolia” (2005)
92. Fuck Buttons – “Sweet Love For Planet Earth” (2008)
93. Bon Iver – “Skinny Love” (2008)
94. Built to Spill – “In Your Mind” (2001)
95. The White Stripes – “Icky Thump” (2007)
96. Does It Offend You, Yeah? – “We Are Rockstars” (2008)
97. Dub Trio – “Not Alone” (2006)
98. Modest Mouse – “The World At Large”
99. The Walkmen – “In the New Year” (2008)
100. Nine Inch Nails – “The Great Destroyer (Modwheelmood Remix)” (2007)
Grizzy Bear is the best band in the world at the moment for a few reasons. First, the release of 2009′s Veckatimest is not only a collection of infectious, complex, moody, wide-ranging, crescendo building, symphonic and sheer brilliant tracks, it found its way band on Billboard’s Top 10, with the likes of Hannah Montana and Lady Gaga. WTF! Second, the band overcame a venue that has been widely noted for its poor sound to pull off one of the best performances of this or any year.
Chris Taylor’s musical antics impress me to no end. The multi-instrumentalist plays the gamut of woodwinds along with his bass guitar throughout the show. At several points in the performance, he created a mock orchestra featuring samples recorded live. The effect is overwhelming and makes the band sound like it should be playing Carnegie Hall. Chris Bear’s drumming is still front and center, but he was turned down a bit in the mix compared to June’s show at the Trocadero. Ed Droste’s voice was angelic as usual, and his use of delay effects on his mic added dimension and ambiance. Daniel Rossen’s psychedelic chord progressions and technical mastery were beyond stellar.
Fever Ray may have put on a better “show” last week, but Grizzly Bear is all about the music. There are no pre-recorded tracks here. No ceremonial headdresses. No makeup. No laser light show. No gimmicks. It’s just four virtuoso musicians playing their instruments and songs from this year’s best album.
This was Karin Dreijer Andersson’s first US show as Fever Ray and what a show it was. Andersson has not stepped on a stage in the States since her last visit to Webster Hall in 2006 with her brother Olof as The Knife. The stage was set with smoke machines, synchronized lamp shades of yellow incandescent light that contrasted the green laser beams bouncing off mirrors on the stage and ceiling. All of this was designed by none other than artist and director Andreas Nilsson, who has directed her spooky-short film videos as well as previous work on the Knife projects. With a much larger live band than expected, the stage was filled with three sampling stations in addition to an large percussion arrangement of tribal drums and Karin’s microphone and guitar setup.
The show opened with “If I Had A Heart” as the droning sample rung with Karin hidden beneath a large Indian headdress that engulfed her entire body. This went along with the primal imagery of Nilsson’s design that also included warpaint and American Indian hand crosses brilliantly juxtaposed by the beams of light, making the smoke look like a moving ocean above our heads.
The perfect sound mix added to what was a flawless show. The deep bass of songs like “Coconut” were heart-pounding. Lights even shined on Karin’s face as her impeccable voice crooned the lyrics to “When I Grow Up” and “Seven.” In addition to songs off of the self-titled record, Fever Ray played two cover songs recorded with Van Rivers and The Subliminal Kid. The tracks are available on a limited vinyl release. “Stranger than Kindness,” originally by Nick Cave and Anita Lane, and “Here Before” by Vashti Bunyan added to s seamless set.
The only awkward moment of the show ironically came when it ended. As Karin and company left the stage the house lights stayed off and the sold out crowd of 1400 clamored for an expected encore. After four minutes of darkness, its almost guaranteed that a band will return to the stage. But Karin Dreijer Andersson is the pinnacle of non-conformity and did not return. The house music slowly began to get louder until the house lights came on, leaving everyone confused but not unfulfilled.
This show was on our calendar for months and was easily the most anticipated of the year. Somehow our expectations were exceeded. To put it in plain English, it is was one of the best fucking performances I have ever seen in my life.
Setlist:
If I Had A Heart
Triangle Walks
Concrete Walls
Seven
Now’s the Only Time
Dry and Dusty
I’m Not Done
Keep the Streets Empty
Stranger than Kindness
When I Grow Up
Here Before
Coconut
Here’s a sample from the MELT Festival in Germany:
The third single off of The Knife sibling Karin Dreijer Andersson’s Fever Ray album will be (the Beverly Hills Cop Theme Song-ish) “Triangle Walks.” It comes out next week on Mute Records. The Rex The Dog Remix is a promotional release only and will not appear on the final tracklisting, which includes six variations of one of the year’s best tracks. Download “Triangle Walks (Rex The Dog Remix” here or stream it below:
