Enigmatic Swedish duo The Knife are back and have confirmed their first proper LP since 2006’s The Shout.
Details on the forthcoming release are tight, except for the title, revealed by Pitchfork to be Shaking The Habitual, with the only other solid information being a release window of Spring (our Autumn) through Mute Records next year, and that it will feature vocals from Shannon Funchess of Light Asylum.
Playing up their introverted and mysterious nature, the dark electronic group, consisting of siblings Karin Dreijer Andersson and Olof Dreijer, have released an ambiguous 43-second teaser video to promote the forthcoming album, the duo’s fourth studio effort.
Neither Andersson nor Dreijer’s faces are shown unobstructed, as close ups of their feet strapped into high heels are prominent and the pair swing on a children’s playground. The music accompanying the video is eerie and atmospheric; perhaps an interlude or introduction to a track from their upcoming release.
The video ends with a short clip of a group of revellers at what looks to be a club, however as with much of the video, and in typical fashion of the Swedish provocateurs – it’s hard to be sure exactly what is happening. To be honest, the short trailer would be rather disconcerting if the colours weren’t so bold and saturated.
The teaser also comes with a short poetic message from the band, which reads:
Music can be so meaningless.
We had to find lust.
We asked our friends and lovers to help us.
Coupled with the title of the album this message is rather ominous and perhaps hints at a new direction or outlook from the band.
However, despite the vagueness of the video, it is more than enough for rabid fans to latch onto and celebrate. While the siblings have remained busy, with Andersson releasing a solo album in 2009 under the pseudonym Fever Ray, and the duo collaborating with Mount Sims and Planningtorock to score an opera based on Charles Darwin’s On The Origin of Species (yes, you read that correctly), it is a true follow up to The Shout that their faithful have been yearning for.
Yet it seems likely that they still have a ways to wait, with a slow trickle of information expected as we approach the as of yet unconfirmed release date.
