TEN SONGS THAT DEFINE THE DECADE: #8

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#10

words: Jamie Milton
illustration: Stevie-Marie Terry

The Knife – We Share Our Mother’s Health

Most critical commentators will look back on The Knife’s action this decade fondly – their unique, haunting applying of synthetics completely spoils tradition and ‘Silent Shout’, their latest release as a Swedish duo, exemplified the wonderful progression that somehow occurred within the two over the decade. Their peak in popularity appeared through ‘Heartbeats’, a song, once covered by acoustic-sweetheart and fellow Swede Jose Gonzalez, managed to surge the band into more recognition. But the following release, ‘Silent Shout’, was unlike any other electronic album released this year. Coherently terrifying, a journey like no other.

And it would have been easy to simply pit for a lucky dip in choosing one of ‘Silent Shout’’s assets for one of the songs of the decade. But it seemed only fair to pick the centerpiece: ‘We Share Our Mother’s Health’, a contrastingly streamlined piece of edgy dance music, maintaining the ghostly dramatics of the rest of the record but upping the anti with a twisted, get-up-and-dance attitude.

It’s the opening twenty seconds that first wows the listener: The first time you come across them, you’re blown completely to the side. Synths whimper, sob for seconds before a glass-like melody enters completely unexpectedly, unleashing a clean-cut, fast-paced beat – and we’re away. That’s the moment you fall for ‘We Share Our Mother’s Health’, and the rest of the record, as it happens.

mp3: The Knife – We Share Our Mother’s Health

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