The inside fold-out says it all. A crisp and cold photo of a northern landscape , like something Telarc would deem suitable for the cover of a Sibelius symphony.
Though their seemingly ironic name would suggest otherwise, Kings of Convenience (the Bergen, Norway duo of Erlend Oye and Eirik Glambek Boe)
are all about clear and thoughtfully constructed arrangements, and heavily introspective lyrics. Appreciating the unadorned sentiment of quiet is the new loud could depend on whether one finds Simon and Garfunkel touching or simply overly precious.
On the opening track, 'Winning a Battle. Losing the War' the lads sing 'even though I'll never need her, even though she's only giving me pain, I'll be on my knees to feed her, spend a day to make her smile again' and establish the mood that continues through twelve small well-crafted stories of love and loneliness, mostly loneliness.
Songs like 'Toxic Girl', 'Failure', and 'The Girl From Back Then' provide the perfect support group for an autumn afternoon's inward-looking trip though the sad times. Quiet is never maudlin, but also never lets the sun shine through the raincloud for even an instant.
With a mellow, yet precise vocal delivery, like a 21st century David and Jonathan, the most contemporary and obvious comparisons would be to Belle and Sebastian, but with a sharper focus than B&S has displayed of late. Fans of The Smiths, Nick Drake, and even David Sylvian should also find much to enjoy here.
The instrumental backing is accordingly sparse to the point of non-existence.
Kings truly embody the 'less is more' approach, with the lightest piano, tiniest trumpet, and smallest of drums appearing in brief intervals to complement the basic elements of acoustic guitar, voice, and occasional cello.
[NOTE : Following this CD up with Coldplay's 'A Rush of Blood' to the Head made the London foursome sound like Racer X by comparison, so if one was planning to set the mood of the evening with the Kings of Convenience, they'd best keep the rest of the music this side of early Leonard Cohen].
It would seem to be intentional that no one is given a producer's credit, though recordist/mixer Ken Nelson (Coldplay, Badly Drawn Boy) is thanked for 'picking the good takes.'
Quiet is the new loud succeeds, despite its complete avoidance of modern production techniques, in sounding both timeless and contemporary, and may it, like the music of the dear departed Mr Drake, remain as fresh 30 years hence.
|