The album is chunked into four chapters, or what Malin Dahlström describes as a “musical novel”, explaining, "we wanted to explore the form of the novel, and whether we could translate it into music."

"The Kiss" is the album's opening track and anchors the first chapter, reflecting on memories of love, connection, and subtle grief. It arrives with a music video, which you can check out below.

Dahlström and Gustaf Karlöf first met while composing music for the theatre, and Beauty and Terror follows a period in which the duo re-evaluated their material during the pandemic and reset their approach. Their last record was all the way back in 2016, Everybody's Heart Is Broken Now.

The title of the new record, Beauty and Terror, comes from a line by poet Rainer Maria Rilke, while Dahlström drew on the Gothic romanticism of the Brontë sisters.

At the same time, the record retains the electro-pop architecture associated with Niki & the Dove, with touchstones including Kate Bush, Fleetwood Mac, Prince, and 1970s South American arrangements.