It often becomes difficult to tell whether Olof and Karin Dreijer, a brother and sister line-up, truly hail from their hometown of Stockholm, Sweden or if they holidayed off a warm, lush coast, fertile with the sweltering sounds of calypso and steel drums. Just as the weather makes for long, sensuous dips in the water, without warning, an arctic blow comes sweeping in. That artic blow just happens to be brought upon by a plethora of synthesizers. With it, blowing away the portents of those used to the straight-forward, club-thumping sounds of IDM.
A delectable hybridization of eclectic, electronic, even bordering on the tropical, The Knife unabashedly takes their listeners on a musical odyssey.
We trust The Knife implicitly on this odyssey, however. We trust their novice brand of electronica simply because it sounds so good. It's smooth, arousing, danceable and crosses the line of 'quirky' without looking back for a second. "Silent Shout" has undeniably become a staple in the intelligent listener's CD collection, as well as the indie listener looking for unbelieveable sounds and beats.
"Heartbeats," an immensely catchy song off of "Deep Cuts," was redone by another Swede - famed folk/indie singer-songwriter Jose Gonzalez. This was, perhaps, the first, true glimpse of The Knife.
Going where not many an indie act has gone before, The Knife won six Grammis; or, the Swedish version of the Grammys. A tour in 2006 proved an even more monumental feat, as they had never performed before. Many a time, hiding behind masks, both Dreijers host their own masquerade ball of sorts each time they step on stage.
"Silent Shout" is a remarkable ode to The Knife's capabilities. "Marble House," a single off of this gem, is heartbreakingly beautiful in, frankly, the oddest of ways. Off kilter and lyrically strange ("Now where's your shoulder? What is its name? What's your scent? Say it again - if it goes faster can you still follow me? It must be safe when it's on TV"), this pseudo-love song makes for an incredible piece of music. Their lyrics are never completely opaque; rather alarming, yet ingenious.
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