Kings of Convenience - Quiet is the New Loud
(Astralwerks)
Just last year, Kings of Convenience, a mellow pop duo from Norway, released their debut album
on Kindercore, and the band has already switched labels to Astralwerks and recorded a
brand new album, Quiet is the New Loud. This album finds the Kings of Convenience in
much the same place as they were on their first album... in fact, they are in the very
same place as half of these songs (6 of 12) are just new recordings of songs off their debut!
They are not terribly different recordings, either. There may be an extra instrument or an
extra section to the song, but they are basically the same songs, recorded in a Liverpool studio
(thanks to Astralwerks' bankroll) instead of the band's home.
The songs are very good, of course, but the
album feels like a let down to anyone who owns their debut. The best songs on the old album are the
best songs on the new album, and the brand new songs are not incredibly memorable. The album just feels
like it was made in order to warrant it being repackaged by the more major label, not because the old
versions were at all bad or that the handful of new songs were incredibly good.
For those unfamiliar with the band, I have quoted below the
entirety of my review of the Kings' first album. To further assist you, I have crossed out anything
in the old review that doesn't also apply to the new album, including references to any songs
not included on Quiet is the New Loud. (Hopefully it is still readable with so many sections
and sentences crossed out.)
Kings of Convenience has the most sophisticated sound of any band on the Kindercore
lineup. The Norwegian duo combines two guys with two acoustic guitars and two voices
along with two (or maybe three) prepackaged drum loops to create a suave and subdued
lush sound.
Much like you'd mention The Mamas and the Papas when talking about The Ladybug
Transistor just because they are both pop bands and both use multiple male and female
vocal harmonies even though the 2 bands don't sound or seem the same, you seemingly
can't mention Kings of Convenience without mentioning Simon and Garfunkel. These similarities end on the surface
though, as their melodies and message are otherwise very different.
Who the duo does remind me of is Red House Painters. "Parallel Lines" is a good example of this. The band uses
simple imagery of parallel lines to symbolize two lovers that will never be united. The power of the lyrics along with the
mellow, sad singing and swaying guitar strum create a sound very similar to what Mark Kozelek creates with his voice
and guitar.
There's not much variation on theme on the Kings' debut. Sad tales of love and loss is about all you get. The music is
still pop though... sad pop. The guitar strum is efficient, and the duo makes good use of choruses. When the duo is at
their best, they are using all four weapons at their disposal simultaneously: both voices and both guitars, for instance
"Parallel Lines" and "Failure." In songs like these, the duo surpasses mere pop music, the interplay between their two
guitars creating a rich, textured sound heightened greatly by the atmospheric qualities of the vocal harmonies.
As in "Failure," though, even when the music is rich and upbeat, even the bits of hope, with lyrics like "Failure is the
best way to learn," seem to be at best bittersweet.
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