Kings of Convenience – Declaration of Dependence
The short of it: Another LP of beautifully harmonized, perfectly mixed, floaty and airy acoustic gems from those Swedes that (partially) brought you Röyksopp and made Feist famous.
Kings of Convenience is one of those rare occurrences where the sum is wildly different than its parts. See if you can piece this together: the driving force behind electro-trip-hoppy Royksopp and a friend of his release an album on Astralwerks (home to such as Chemcial Brothers and Fatboy Slim). And it’s… entirely laid back, vocal-centric, highly-harmonized acoustic songs. Something doesn’t connect there.
I remember that initial uneasiness when I picked up their third LP, Riot on an Empty Street. I was completely uncertain what to expect, and always felt a hesitation when listening as I was expecting a beat to drop, somewhere, anywhere. I guess it did, somewhat, on “I’d Rather Dance With You,” the lead-off single for the album. But even that beat was laid back and chill. I didn’t pick that album up again for several months, until my computer died and I lost most of my music library. For some reason, that was when I picked up on them. I played the heck out of that CD for a month – but that’s a story that goes better in Audiobiography. So, to get back on track.
I was really eager for the new album, so much so that I completely missed advance single “Boat Behind.” It wasn’t until looking back after the album’s release that I even knew it existed. And again, the same thing happened – I listened to Declaration of Dependence once through, and found it enjoyable. But then I filed it on my shelf for a few weeks. And then one day, I realized I had been listening to it on repeat for several hours while driving. This album is extremely calming, and without any undercurrent of discomfort which a significant amount of “chill” music I hear contains.
I compared “Boat Behind” to the rest of the tracks on the album, and I found a similar disparity between it and “I’d Rather Dance With You” from Riot on an Empty Street. They know how to choose the right single – both are catchy and upbeat with a great sing-along hook. The true wonder of both albums is what lies in the remainder, past the singles. Both albums lead off with songs you’d find as closers on any other disc – quiet and relaxed with Erlend and Erik in perfect vocal harmony. “Homesick” from Riot quickly became one of my all-time favorite tracks. “24-25″ from Declaration hits me in a similar place. And the remainder of Declaration of Dependence charts a similar course: a steady procession of gorgeous songs that will be the #1 soundtrack to your quiet fall afternoon.
My favorite track on Declaration is the oddly named title track of the previous album, “Riot on an Empty Street.” Something about songs in 3/4 time just tweaks my ear the right way – and backing it up with their signature harmony knocks this one out of the park. I’m sure it’ll be in my head for hours after I finish writing this review.
Song recommendations:
