Watch: The Knife “A Tooth For An Eye”

08 Mar 2013 — Laura Li

Frankly, the concept of an International Women's Day rubs me wrong. It feels counterintuitive. The fact that it shares calendar space with the International R. Kelly day makes it even weirder. But since I love both women and sex-dripping R&B classics from the 90s, especially when put together in interesting ways in my head, I won't complain further. This afternoon, I woke up to a beautiful vision in The Knife's new music video for the second single "A Tooth From An Eye" off their forthcoming fifth album Shaking The Habitual. Directors Roxy Farhat and Kakan Hermansson subvert age-, power- and gender roles as a girl child enters a sports hall and starts leading a group of men into dance. Following her movements, the disparate and for the most part inexperienced troupe is freed from prestige and fear of intimacy, transcending the hierarchal machismo space of a sports arena. The cornrowed girl, both sweet and tough, is roaring for us to trust her. She's telling us stories we need to hear. 'Who are the people we trust as leaders and why?', The Knife ask. As always their work performs as an allegory for wider, complex societal structures, overall continuously tackling the patriarchy. The lights get dimmer in the sports hall, providing shadow for dead serious tribal play. At some point sparklers are ignited. The whole thing is crackling with magic. Notice how it's making them all shine.