Declaration Of Dependence
by Kings Of Convenience
Release Date: 20th October 2009
Track
List: 24-25 / Mrs. Cold / Me In You / Boat Behind / Rule My World / My Ship Isn't Pretty / Renegade
/ Power Of Not Knowing / Peacetime
Resistance / Freedom And Its Owner / Riot
On An Empty Street / Second To Numb / Scars On Land //
This album and artist was completely new for me. I had only originally heard them late last year, this album
being their most recent after already having released three or four other
albums along with an EP. Although this is the first album I've heard, I've had
little listens to other songs from other albums, mostly from Riot On An
Empty Street and a few tracks from
Quiet Is The New Loud. Riot, is different to Declaration in terms of
instrumentation with the incorporation of drums, Declaration Of Dependence is stripped back with two
voices, two guitars and occasionally, cello, viola and piano accompaniments.
The title of their 2001 album, Quiet Is
The New Loud, clearly describes their style straight away.
Kings Of Convenience are a Norwegian
duo, consisting of Erlend Øye and Eirik Glambek Bøe, sing with a hushed
politeness to their music even though the themes of their pieces are often
stronger and more serious than their style lets on. Together their music
becomes “quiet protests against
loneliness”, they’ve “got four eyes,
so why yearn for one perspective?”
Most artists or groups
these days, are moving more towards the electronic side of music. Whereas Kings Of Convenience have kept their
acoustic style, and applied the simplistic techniques of the electronic
elements to their acoustic variety, through their use of rhythm, texture and
incorporation of instruments.
Their voices are calm and hushed, harmonising over plucked guitar
melodies. With topics of loneliness in 24-25
their voices sound solitary, almost like one voice, “but somewhere, I loose count of my own / and somehow, I must find it
alone”. From the opening track, 24-25,
it moves through to Mrs. Cold, where
it feels lighter from the choice of instrumentation, with bowed and plucked
strings accompanying their two guitars and voices. However, this lighter
atmosphere is less fitting with when listening to the lyrics, as they discuss a
past relationship and address them throughout, from “Hey baby, Mrs. Cold / acting so tough / didn’t know you had it in you
to be hurt at all”, to “Hey baby, /
what is love? / It was just a game, / we’re both playing and we can’t get
enough of”. Continuing this topic of relationships and love, Boat Behind, follows this where they
sing about being reunited with someone after years and still never belonging to
them, “So we meet again / after several
years”, “ oh, I could never belong to you”.
This quiet and serene style of their voices continues throughout Declaration Of Dependence, although consistent in their style it doesn't get boring. It's a calming, easy, well crafted album to listen to, which has probably become an obvious element in the music I listen to and write about, as music doesn't have to be technically difficult for it to excel or to be enjoyable. Rule My World, introduced with smooth plucking guitars, and much calmer after following Boat Behind's style with percussive hits to their guitars and jazzy walking bass lines on the strings, has lines of lyrics that are some of my favourite from the album: "You set yourself above / that all forgiving God / you claim that you believe in", "so somehow we're the same / we're causing people pain / but I stand and take the blame / you scramble to deny it" , "only someone / who's morally / superior can possibly / and honestly deserve / to rule my world" , "explain me one more time, / when they kill it's a crime, / when you kill it is justice".
Kings Of Convenience have become a new favourite artist of mine, their hushed acoustic style is bliss to listen to, and you guys should definitely have a listen if you haven't heard them already.
This quiet and serene style of their voices continues throughout Declaration Of Dependence, although consistent in their style it doesn't get boring. It's a calming, easy, well crafted album to listen to, which has probably become an obvious element in the music I listen to and write about, as music doesn't have to be technically difficult for it to excel or to be enjoyable. Rule My World, introduced with smooth plucking guitars, and much calmer after following Boat Behind's style with percussive hits to their guitars and jazzy walking bass lines on the strings, has lines of lyrics that are some of my favourite from the album: "You set yourself above / that all forgiving God / you claim that you believe in", "so somehow we're the same / we're causing people pain / but I stand and take the blame / you scramble to deny it" , "only someone / who's morally / superior can possibly / and honestly deserve / to rule my world" , "explain me one more time, / when they kill it's a crime, / when you kill it is justice".
Kings Of Convenience have become a new favourite artist of mine, their hushed acoustic style is bliss to listen to, and you guys should definitely have a listen if you haven't heard them already.
forteloud rating: 5/5
Listening;
Declaration Of Dependence:
(If you liked/haven't made your mind up yet about Declaration of Dependence, here's their previous album.)
Riot On An Empty Street:
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