K is for Kings of Convenience

By Sarah

efore the Shazam app allowed me to tag songs playing on the radio, and before the web site AdTunes made it possible to easily discover the songs on commercials, I was tormented by melodies of unknown bands that would stick in my head, never to be named or labeled. This is how I felt about a Volkswagen Golf commercial (or maybe it was Jetta....?) in the early 2000s...a quirky acoustic song that I adored and wanted desperately to know more about. I tried my best to research it, but eventually it fell out of my consciousness once the commercial went off the air.

So imagine my delight when my friend, Danielle, made me a little mix CD a couple years later containing the track "Toxic Girl" by Kings of Convenience, and lo and behold, the Volkswagen commerical mystery was solved! And so began my relationship with one of my favorite bands.

I appreciate a band's ability to grow over time and become more complex. Kings of Convenience have managed to do this while seemingly not altering their sound. The vocal and melodic arrangements are simultaneously simple and sophisticated, and the tracks have the ability to exist both in the background and in the forefront, depending on your mood. That sort of versatility and nuance is what makes this an interesting and beloved band to me. Also, there's only two of them (Erlend Oye and Eirik Boe) and they're from Norway, and that's just awesome.

2001's Quiet Is The New Loud is one of my go-to albums and includes the track "Toxic Girl." I could listen to this album on repeat for days and never tire of it. Every song is great and it's hard to pick favorites, but standout tracks include "I Don't Know What I Can Save You From," (referenced in my "I" post a few weeks back), "Parallel Lines," and "Winning A Battle, Losing The War"—one of my favorite opening tracks on any album.

Shortly thereafter, Versus was released. It's essentially the entire Quiet Is The New Loud album remixed, with contributions from Ladytron, Royskopp, Four Tet, and Kings of Convenience themselves. The tracks represent an entirely different interpretation of the album and the overall effect is a totally different sound from the original. Four Tet's remix of "'The Weight of My Words" is outstanding.

Riot On An Empty Street (2004) continues with the same formula from the Kings' first album, but adds a few more mid-tempo tracks. "Homesick," "Know How," "Misread," and my all time favorite Kings of Convenience song, "Gold In The Air of Summer," are all on this album.

And lastly... Declaration of Dependence, the latest Kings of Convenience album, was just released about a month ago and I'm still getting acquainted. So far I like what I hear, and if you're already a fan it's definitely worth picking up. And, if you're just hearing Kings of Convenience for the first time it's not a bad place to start. Favorite tracks include: "24-25," "Me In You," "Riot On An Empty Street," and the especially lovely, "Scars On Land."

If you like what you hear, I also recommend checking out Erlend Oye's other band, The Whitest Boy Alive. Kings of Convenience with an electronica twist.