XLR8R - logo    • Filed under: Review   • 04/11/2013   The Knife
Shaking the Habitual  In all honesty, XLR8R doesn't really need
to weigh in on whether or not the new LP by Swedish duo The
Knife is any good. It's been seven years since the spellbinding
Silent Shout ushered in a new era of moody synth-pop, four years
after singer Karin Dreijer Andersson once again captivated The
Knife's fans with her bewitching Fever Ray project, and even
Deep Cuts' decade-old hit "Heartbeats" continues to charm just
about anyone who hears it. Basically, records like Shaking the
Habitual arrive more or less entrenched in hype, expectations,
and adoration. (XLR8R even went so far as to explore the highs
and lows of the collective preconceptions before we'd heard more
than a tenth of its music.) So, if we don't need to explain why
The Knife's 98-minute behemoth of a fourth album is one of the
best releases of 2013, we'll instead talk about why it should be
considered one of the most important albums in recent memory.
In intervi