Fever Ray – “Mustn’t Hurry” (Singles Going Steady)

Morgan Y. Evans: “Mustn’t Hurry” is another excellent Fever Ray song that operates on varied planes of meaning and will thrill devotees while still likely remaining a little too weird for your average pop fan. That is fine. I would rather have Karin Dreijer examining a speculum in a sort of emotionless haze that scarcely belies the complexity of depth awaiting dutiful students than another performative pop song and video with cliché subjects and imagery. The lyrics of “Mustn’t Hurry” could operate as a metaphor for wanting to be seen, loved well, being worth surrendering to or any number of things.

The music and visuals of the video might not be as immediately striking or hypnotic as “When I Grow Up” but you will be left with a growing urge to savor the real connections in your life or the places within yourself that are all your own. That’s the thing, you always feel like she is in control even when the imagery has some sub/bondage elements. In “To the Moon and Back” she sort of seemed at first to be disoriented and adjusting more to the
Bladerunner-esque environment before participating in the various costumed kink that ensues. Given the eight-year wait between near-perfect albums (and I’m not trying to sound overly crass here), we also know that Andersson is well aware that slow and steady wins the race and that quality and excitement matters over perfunctory quantity. [8/10]

Adriane Pontecorvo: Ghoulish imagery and eerie vocals make up the disquieting “Mustn’t Hurry”, a Fever Ray joint if there ever was one. As the video loops over and over, the music builds, and the speculum somehow looks more terrifying as time goes on. Halloween never has to end when we have Fever Ray music videos to keep us creeped out. [7/10]

Chris Ingalls: On her second album as Fever Ray (and first since 2009), the Knife’s Karen Dreijer churns out more creepy, ominous stuff. “Mustn’t Hurry” initially employs a repetitious groove that seems almost maddening, but it eventually builds up to some extent, creating plenty of dimension that adds to the forbidding vibe. Chilling atmosphere, nicely arranged. [7/10]

Tristan Kneschke: The Knife’s Karin Dreijer is celebrating her second album Plunge with a set of bizarre videos all revolving around one of the creepiest doppelgängers in recent pop music. Dreijer fondling a speculum with heavily powdered face and blackened eyes is the stuff of pure nightmares. It’s hard to believe there wasn’t more footage for “Mustn’t Hurry”, but if her YouTube account is any indication (seven videos uploaded within the last three weeks), perhaps there’s still more to come. For a video that lasts through the entire song as opposed to looping several times – not to mention a more cohesive artistic statement overall – check out “To the Moon and Back”, which expands Dreijer’s legitimately fright-inducing vision. [6/10]

William Nesbitt: I thought this sounded like the Knife both musically and vocally. No wonder since this is Karin Dreijer who was part of the Knife. If you like the Knife, check this out. If you don’t like the Knife, check it out anyway. The video features what looks like a retired Joker who has let his hair grow out and now spends his time cross-dressing and exploring or continuing an interest in bondage and medical fetish, though the video only suggests rather than depicts these acts. Maybe Batman is waiting in the next room? [8/10]

Steve Horowitz: Sometimes a heartbeat and a pulse measure the same corporeal elements. Sometimes they don’t. Fever Ray uses a throbbing beat to keep things calm but the heart the heart the heart keeps on pounding anyway. Just repeating the phrase “Mustn’t Hurry”begs the question of why would one be in a rush anyway. The song purposely obscures what prompts the feeling and insists on calming down listeners as a way of exciting an audience. It works, but only takes one so far. [7/10]

RATING: 7.17