We had a promise made; we were in love

Most people will know at least one song by The Knife, since José Gonzalez covered "Heartbeats" a couple of years ago. If you don't, The Knife are a Swedish brother/sister duo, Olof and Karin Dreijer, who make dark, synth-based pop. They tend to shun media attention (hence the masks above). Karin sang on "What Else is There" by Royksopp; the video is another example of media-avoidance. Only on the second or third viewing did I realise it's not Karin performing in the video, but model Marianne Schröder.
I bought the band's last album Deep Cuts on the strength of "Heartbeats" alone. The good songs were really good; some of it I didn't like so much. So when their latest album Silent Shout came out last year I was a bit "meh", especially since the first review I saw was possibly the only bad review given (Q Magazine gave the CD one star. The review can be summarised as "tuneless mess". Q Mag's given some dodgy reviews in its time, and this is an extreme example of them getting it wrong). But then, in July, Brille re-released a "deluxe edition" of Silent Shout. I'm a sucker for bonus discs, and have been hankering after the release for a while. i just got it yesterday and the package is pretty amazing. You get the original album, a live DVD with some amazing visuals and a CD with the audio of the DVD. Also on the DVD is every video the band have ever made plus a short film. Even if you have the Deep Cuts re-issue (which includes a bonus DVD with 5 music videos and the short film) it's worth getting for the other 15.

I've not got round to watching the whole DVD yet, but a highlight of the live audio is definitely "Heartbeats". The more glittery elements- and the steel drums- of the original have been removed, leaving a dark, shimering song which could easily fit on Silent Shout proper. Of the album tracks, I really like "Forest Families".

"Heartbeats" (live) (mp3)

"Forest Families" (mp3)

Official Knife website (link)

You'll never know all the ways I tried

Robyn is from Sweden, and previously was best known in the UK for the 90s hit "Show Me Love" until recently, when her collaboration with Andreas Kleerup "With Every Heartbeat" got to number one. Back in November '06 she released The Rakamonie EP , which includes the amazing ballad version of "Be Mine!". "Be Mine!" is the best thing on her recent, self-titled album, totally different from the ballad version, and really should be the next single. But it's not going to be: that apparently will be "Handle Me", released in late October.
To benefit from the success of "With Every Heartbeat" the UK version of "Robyn" is being re-released with a bonus track. The original Swedish release featured different artwork and different arrangements of two tracks, "Robotboy" and "Bum Like You". The original BLY is far better, I have no idea why they changed it.

"Be Mine!" (ballad version) (mp3)
"Bum Like You" (original version) (mp3)

official Robyn website (link)