Rating: 1/5 stars

After an eight-year break, Swedish singer Karin Dreijer Andersson, who performs under the alias “Fever Ray,” has finally released another album titled, “Plunge.” The 42-year-old musician, who was formerly the lead vocalist and guitarist for the ’90s indie rock band Honey is Cool, is known for her distinctively mysterious yet theatrical style of electronic rock, which includes ambient recording techniques and wearing masks and makeup while performing. This particular style definitely holds up throughout this album.

The album’s opening track, “Wanna Sip,” immediately sets an eerie tone with a collection of dissonant sounds before Fever Ray begins her over-the-top singing. Her vocal pace never really changes throughout the song, which makes it feel repetitive by the end.

Starting off with a similar build-up, “Mustn’t Hurry” differs by adding in an array of sound effects that jump back and forth between pitches.

“A Part Of Us” puts a jolt of excitement in the album by providing a more engaging sound that is more ambitious. The dreamy sound effects have a major influence on this track’s overall appeal.

The fourth song, “Falling,” continues the now-stale, synth-heavy build-up and really does not gain any flavor the rest of the way.

“IDK About You” goes right to work separating itself from the rest of the album as the most interesting and complex track so far. The beginning upbeat tempo certainly differs from the rest of the tracks. The element that really set this song apart was the trippy vocals that sound as if it should be played in reverse.

The creepy-sounding piano in “This Country” is reminiscent of one used in a corny scary movie while accompanied by a fuzzy distortion.

Next up, the album’s title track, “Plunge,” sounds like electronic background noise that would best fit in a videogame, or even a dance club.

This remains the case throughout the duration of “To The Moon And Back,” which, after nearly five minutes, gets to be very obnoxious.

An Indian influence is strongly present in “Red Trails,” which is then met with the best vocal performance of the album by Fever Ray.

“Itch” has a very bland and repetitive feel, making it fit right in with the rest of the tracks as it just goes through the motions.

Finishing off the album is “Mama’s Hand,” which brings very little to the table and does not make much of an attempt to stand out at all.

Overall, the album gets to be repetitive and slow very early on and tightly holds onto that position from start to finish. The tracks are all but completely interchangeable. There is just not enough kick to any of the songs aside from the aforementioned “A Part Of Us” and “IDK About You.” As alluded to previously, the album would best suited as the background noise in a video game or at a club as opposed to being viewed as a well-molded work of music. This album simply does not offer enough to be revisited.

Photo: adrian mustredo via flickr