Advisory: The above video contains language that some may find offensive.
Karin Dreijer likes to play; the pitch-shifted vocals found on Fever Ray's self-titled 2009 debut forced questions of authorship, voice and beauty through ritualistic electro-pop.
Outside of and after that record, her experimental approach to — well, everything — has been clear. There's that one time Fever Ray accepted an award while gurgling through a melted face mask. Her sibling duo The Knife recently announced a live DVD with a pair of surreal knife demonstrations. And, as of yesterday, she has a Swedish phone number for lonely singles ("Karma Kinksters") that you can call where someone gargles veiled threats, then shouts before you hear the beep to leave a message. (I know, I called and am still confused/delighted.)
Something's up! And now there's a minute-long teaser video with new music on Fever Ray's YouTube channel. "Sadist, empathetic switch seeks same," reads the onscreen text. "For hours and hours of sharing: ideas, skin warmth, breath, politics, dreams, and body fluids."
It's been eight years since Fever Ray's debut, an album born out of sleepless new-mother nights, animated with striking and surreal imagery. The psychedelic-dub music teased here prowls and slinks, as Dreijer shouts, "This house makes it hard to f***." Maybe we're getting the raunchy Tinder album from Fever Ray we didn't know we wanted or would ever be prepared for.
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