Kings of Convenience
Quiet Is The New Loud

THE REVIEW

The Kings of Convenience is a duo formed by two very young Norwegian guys who draw evident inspiration from the delicate 60s/70s ballads of another remarkable duo, Simon & Garfunkel. They outline a kind of profile that manages to go beyond mere imitation and is obviously distinguished by both a different historical era and a very personal style.

Perhaps as a reaction to the harsh and hostile climate of the duo's native land, their ballads are rich in a warmth as enveloping and intense as the sweetness that permeates their voices, different but very similar in tone, and their music, rich in arpeggios of acoustic and classical guitars, simple chord progressions enriched by soft piano and string backgrounds, and even some trumpet—as in the case of the single version of “Failure,” released in 2001 a few months after the CD's release.

Sometimes they have been criticized and accused of monotony and lack of novelty, as if by itself making “excellent good music” isn’t already a nice novelty. Clearly, their style is familiar, already heard, and perhaps a bit presumptuous in measuring up to the great figures mentioned above. However, I find their work refined, of high quality, and not devoid of that sort of self-irony that sometimes distinguishes original and intelligent composers from the mediocre and repetitive ones…

If you wish to spend 50 minutes of your time listening to timeless melodies that bring peace to the world, well, this is the CD for you. With delicacy and lightness, it will make you appreciate a type of music that has never truly been surpassed.
Rightly so.