Kings of Convenience - Declaration of Dependence

I somehow missed that the third Kings of Convenience album (excluding the remix album Versus) had been released last October (2009). I am a very big fan of their first two albums, Quite Is the New Loud (2001) and Riot on an Empty Street (2004). As you can see, its been quite some time for this third album to be released. The Bergen, Norwegian group is made up of Erlend Øye and Eirik Glambek Bøe. Øye, has been quite active in a number of other projects (a solo album entitled Unrest, part of The Whitest Boy Alive). Eirik Glambek Bøe, I believe, had been focusing on school at one time which also accounted for some of time off. In any case it has been long overdue, so I was quite elated when I discovered this release.

Both Erlend Øye and Eirik Glambek Bøe sing and play guitar in the group. At times they have included other musicians often bringing in other stringed instruments, rarely any percussive instruments, though it is noted on this album that Eirik will often tap at his guitar creating a percussive beat in certain songs. After my initial listening, I came away thinking that they had moved their focus toward the vocal end of things. I still think this as I have re-listened to the cd, though some of the guitar and viola nuances have shown through. I think this album will serve to compliment their previous two quite well. My personal bias is towards the more instrumental end of things. The part of their music that really captured me was their interwoven guitar playing that had been a hallmark of their first two albums (particularly the first). But, to ignore the beautiful harmonization of their voices would be criminal as well. While I sit here listening to the music on this album and writing this review, I hesitate to draw further conclusions about this album. I can tell it is already revealing much more than I first grasped. What can be taken away from this, is perhaps this album in its ever so Kings of Convenience softness and subtlety, is layered and holds its greatest offering underneath its surface.


Kings of Convenience - "Mrs. Cold"

Erland on nylon strings and Eirik on steel strings. Eirik's picking style provides a percussive feel that helps build a beat for the song. While Erland is free to come in and out with some very beautiful playing that brings alot of character to the song. This song also features Davide Bertolini on upright bass and Tobias Helt on viola. The vocals are often composed of Eirik singing lead and Erland joining in on chorus and occasional trade offs. There is a little bit more liveliness at times in the vocals in this song than is typical for duo, which fits in well with the lyrical concept of the song.


Kings of Convenience - "Riot On An Empty Street"

Here we see a change in the vocal pattern. Eirik, often the lower sounding of the two, switches with Erland and takes the high end. This is simply a beautifully written song, I think my favorite on the album because of the emotion evoked by the mainline guitar hook. It feels like a sad song, but of a kinetic sort, without conclusion, which can be a bit haunting if not for the fact that it is so warming at the same time. The lyrics do a wonderful job of painting imagery, and are sung in doses, two lines at a time, broken by guitar interludes. The piano and vocalized humming accompanying the closing portion of the song is wonderfully done and the seconds of silence that separate this song and next (whether intentional or not) are perfectly placed.

You can find this album available for mp3 download through iTunes and on cd at Amazon.com for relatively good prices (~$11.00). The group is venturing out on a tour of Eastern North America beginning in June, 2010. Details and cities that they will hit on this tour can be found at their website.