Karin Dreijer is not alone. Always fond of using masks and personas, the visual world of Radical Romantics called forth a full crew of lurid characters. In videos trailing this release they gather together. Sitting uncomfortably in a circle for ‘I’m Not Done’ they begin to act out and run loose in ‘Now’s The Only Time I Know’. These ‘therapy session’ versions of tracks from Fever Ray‘s self titled debut are a subtly set apart introduction to The Year Of The Radical Romantics which summons the music’s tougher, more upbeat, alter-ego(s) to come out and burn through their social battery before diving back to the bottom of the ocean.
Ostensibly the third Fever Ray live album, it captures a live-to-tape studio performance of the band and arrangements for the There’s No Place I’d Rather Be Tour. For what is, essentially, a solo studio project it is unusual to release so much live material but Dreijer’s twisted electronic pop has been shadowed by its onstage incarnations ever since The Knife first put together a tour for Silent Shout. This practice seems less about making a record of an event (the sound of the hall or the roar of the crowd) and more a commitment to a constant reimagining of material, of its possibilities. Dragging the songs from their comfortable isolation and making them dance in the spotlight alongside their family from the other records.
With the two Therapy Sessions tracks doubling up in ‘Radical Romantics Session’ versions as well, Purge is the overlooked middle child but delirious versions of ‘Mustn’t Hurry’ and ‘To The Moon and Back’ cling to one another early on. Shaking off the debut’s monochrome chill its songs become bolder, more colourful and rhythmic while still holding their shape. Dreijer has a real knack for this kind of reimagining, the shifts in tone or colour always feel completely natural. The real vitality of the new therapy session versions is at a polar remove from any cynical revisiting of old material. The melancholic drift of ‘Now’s The Only Time I Know (Therapy Session)’ expands into something steadily bumping, even celebratory. ‘I’m Not Done (Therapy Session)’ turns the dancefloor dial right up until it’s impossible to keep still, while still holding the vocal at its centre. What it recalls, more than in the past, is The Knife.
One of the notable things about Radical Romantics was that its opening run of songs saw Karin writing and recording with brother Olof again. Those tunes all feature here and the set’s low key integration of the different phases of Fever Ray extends backwards into their time together. The new songs come largely unaltered from the album, but with the live feel of air vibrating around them. ‘Even It Out’ provides a moment where the sense of the live thing really comes into play, the thumpingly percussive bass, string not synth for a change, tilting the sonic chemistry, an echo of Karin’s threats toward their kid’s bully.
Live in Luleå and Live at Troxy are fine but they’re never the first Fever Ray recordings I’d reach for. The Year Of The Radical Romantics is another one, so what is the goal, the gift, the point? Why do you want it? After all, there’s not exactly any improvisation or spontaneous onstage magic being captured here, the tightly drilled set was virtually unchanging for the entire tour and the visual and theatrical aspects are lost in the audio experience. I’d argue it’s the best of the three live outings, more considered and developed. Much more than a tour souvenir or alternate version, it goes some distance further I think, more integrated, more alive.
At this point we should probably accept that a live version will naturally follow each new Fever Ray incarnation. Whether or not we ever see the group of characters associated with this album again is unclear. In the videos, nothing seems resolved. All remains conflict, contradictions and questions for the personas in the circle. This is probably how it should be. There is humanity and mystery, joy and mess in the possibilities they holds out to us. Why fear that? Why make it dull and narrow or ordinary? Who wants to burn away the romance of the world?
