The Knife - Tomorrow, in a year: Review

Dispell your expectations now because Silent Shout 2, this ain't. Tomorrow in a Year couldn't be further from that seminal record, nor could The Knife have sought to alienate their casual fanbase any further with this highly avant-garde offering: a 2cd opera foray into the history of evolution. Commissioned by a Danish performance group with a mandate so enticing no artist could turn it down, Karin and Olaf Dreijer have pushed the boat out so far that the shore is no longer visible and indulged the subject matter with a staggering depth and precision- asking only "does life have a sound?" before attempting to recreate it. Tomorrow in a Year seems destined to walk a tightrope between expectancies of 'music' and demands of art's indulgence- is it an 'enjoyable' record or is it a work of such precise art as to merit deconstruction?


It begins with minimalism, much in the way life on this planet did- the faintest chirps and buzzes reverberating and coalescing. As the first disc blossoms, the music begins to take on a more tangible quality. Modulated vocal lines (delivered not by Karin, but by mezzo soprano Kristina Wahlin Mommes, actress Laerke Winther and pop artist Jonathon Johansson) sweep over buzzing synths that do little more, initially, than offer grounding. Field recordings and foundsound contribute to a sense of unfurling. It sounds at once alien and everso familiar; Olaf Dreijer's recce's to the Amazon providing context for the slow build of these compositions. Time itself is the crucial element as sound finds a life of itself: Beat structures, when they do appear, mirror human heartbeats. Rhythm is composed in line with animal influence- at one point harmonising the chorus of poison dart frogs. Elsewhere, sound boxes are utilised to duplicate and affect samples in line with Richard Dawkins' theory of gene trees. Absolute attention to miniscule detail permeates every moment of these records.

The second disc is more immediate- nuance and minimalism giving way to increased detail and structure, much as evolutionary patterns refine over a period of time. Karin Dreijer finally offers a vocal take on the 11 minute opus The Colouring of Pigeons- the very essence of fragility. As the album draws to a close, it's as if nature has led us from the ether to a place where beats, lyrics and structures can coexist in a meaningful sense. Tomorrow in a Year is as much a document of it's own evolution as it is a retelling of nature's laws and entwined mythologies. But how succesful is it? One suspects that the live opera, touring Europe in late Feb- will afford an audience a more fulfilling experience than this studio re-performance.