The Knife – Tomorrow, In A Year

by Jeremy Schaefer on March 2nd, 2010

The Knife – Tomorrow, In A Year
March 1st, 2010
Rabid Records
Score: 8.0

The brother/sister team that makes up electronic outfit The Knife clearly don’t shy away from a challenge. Tomorrow, In A Year is one of the most ambitious, meticulous, and epic sonic projects to escape my stereo in years. For that achievement alone, The Knife have earned an elevated status in musical pioneering. However, it needs to be said that a project as bold as this one is, almost by the very nature of its scope, just as frustrating as it is inspiring — just as brilliant as it is befuddling.

For those familiar with The Knife, this is a very different musical offering that will defy expectations. Tomorrow, In A Year is a collaboration between The Knife and a variety of other artists from a variety of mediums. Danish performance group Hotel Pro Forma commissioned The Knife to compose the music for an original electronic opera based on Darwin’s The Origin Of Species, and when The Knife accepted the challenge, Tomorrow, In A Year was born. To create the soundscape for Darwin’s theory of evolution, The Knife carefully studied both Darwin’s life and his theory. In ‘Variation Of Birds’, a lone synthesizer sets forth a steady, and particularly unpleasant, frequency for ten seconds. At ten seconds, it begins to tremble, vibrate, and morph into new frequencies. It grows chaotically for nearly two minutes and 45 seconds before it starts to mimic the sound of birds (the song’s subject). At that point, the presence of vocals reminds us that not only has the frequency evolved into bird song, but the noise has evolved into music.  This song is a perfect example of the unique brilliance behind the record.  If you listen to ‘Variation Of Birds’ out of context, those opening two minutes can be painful…however, in the context of the album it is an intensely fascinating moment.

The evolutionary build then bleeds into ‘Letter To Henslow’ which features actual field recordings of birds in the Amazon laying out the sheer variety of life emerging by infinite chance.  The album’s build is wonderful for an intensely focused listening experience. It’s clear that this was not meant as passive entertainment and if treated as such, much of the artistry is completely lost. That being said, by track 12, ‘Colouring Of Pigeons’, Tomorrow, In A Year does arrive at a song that stands on its own outside of the album’s context. The first 11 songs are exploration, growth, mutation, failure, and success. In a word, they represent evolution. ‘Colouring Of Pigeons’ is the arrival of the highly evolved and its appearance on the album is incredibly satisfying and rewarding. The next three songs (plus an alternate version of ‘Annie’s Box’) are truly beautiful tracks that can maintain their beauty in or out of context.

Throughout the album, multiple voices, operatic as well as pop, add the human touch. As disparate as opera and electronica seem, they sound perfectly married when the first operatic vocal line hovers above the orchestrated chaos. In fact, it’s the operatic elements that help carry the listener through the long periods of synthesized evolution. After all, evolution didn’t happen overnight, and the vocal lines help keep the listener patient.

The opera premiered in Copenhagen with a fully staged production. I suspect Tomorrow, In A Year would sound best accompanied by all the other elements of a fully realized opera — after all, that is ultimately how it was intended. As a studio album, however, it succeeds in fueling the listener’s imagination and defying expectation even if, at times, it tries one’s patience. While the last four tracks are the only ones likely to receive heavy rotation on my iPod, the album in its entirety truly needs to be experienced.  Tomorrow, In A Year is an opportunity to hear one of the most important books in science translated into music and one of the most controversial theories illustrated with sound. It is unlike other concept albums and rock operas that came before it, and is unlikely to be replicated in the years to come. While it may at times be challenging, it is most certainly rewarding.

Jeremy Schaefer

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