Kings of Convenience & The Whitest Boy Alive - From Smooth to Soulful

When I was in college I had a real sincere interest in all things Kings of Convenience.  They had this soft, plush sound that was perfect for walking to class in the cold air.  I can't think of a band that I listened to more than Kings of Convenience throughout my entire college career.

KINGS OF CONVENIENCE









Kings are a Norwegian duo of the names Erlend Oye and Eirik Glambek Boe, and they have been gracing the scene since they were signed in 1999.  They are well known for their graceful and complex melodies that dance over top of soft and intricate guitar work.  Their album Riot on an Empty Street was by far my album of choice, but it isn't all these guys have to offer.  I must have listened to Riot about 50,000 times before it was probably lost in some hard-drive crash or something.  One of their albums Quiet is the New Loud was produced by Coldplay, and it went onto receive great acclaim.

I have so many favorites from these guys, so I will try and keep it to about four or five so we can then focus on Oye's side project The Whitest Boy Alive.

-Love is no Big Truth-
I absolutely love this little tune.  It is incredibly whimsical, and it makes incredible use of some banjo work near the end.  Definitely one of my favorites.




-Surprise Ice-
Interesting little ballad that has some really nice harmonies and guitar work.




-Know How-
Love this song.. I spent so much time trying to perfect this on guitar, and then realized it was too difficult to sing along to it while playing lol..




-Cayman Islands-
Beautiful guitar work, compelling lyrics.  I think it's a good choice..




-Misread-
You will notice these are all from Riot, and I think that is just fine.  This song is awesome.




I would be sure to check out their Quiet is the New Loud album (especially Failure, The Weight of My Words, I Don't Know What I Can Save You From, and Parallel Lines).  Also don't be afraid to check out  Declaration of Dependence.  I have yet to hear that one, but maybe I will write about it at some later date.

This leads us to our next stop... The Whitest Boy Alive.


This is a new an offshoot project of Erlend Oye, and it has a little bit more of a rock element to it.  My brother was able to pinpoint this little project, and I have been quite impressed with it so far.  It has some electronic elements to it, which is what it was intended for originally, but it ended up morphing into a rock project, which I think ended up being a good decision.

THE WHITEST BOY ALIVE









I am impressed by the blues and rock influences, and have been also impressed by some of the melodies these guys put together.  It is a mesh of rock and roll and Kings of Convenience, which is pretty amazing stuff.

I haven't really nailed down my favorites yet, but well give a few tracks a listen!

-Golden Cage-
This was the first piece my brother played for me, and I think it's a good indicator of what you are going to hear going forward.  Its a really solid song.




-Island-
I just think this is a really cool song.  I love the keyboard work, and bassline.  See what you think!





-Gravity-
Another solid and bluesy tune that I fell in love with immediately.  Hope you like!




Be sure to check out more from Rules, and also the album Dream.  They are both quite good.

I hope you liked, and let me know if you have any comments etc.  Would love to hear of some other bands that are similar!

Many thanks for stoppin' in.

-CS