Twelve years since their last album, and just over 20 years since their first, Kings Of Convenience release their fourth album, Peace Or Love, today (18 June) and it's like they've never been away. Built as usual around the beautiful-with-a-hint-of melancholy melodies and harmonies of Erlend Øye and Eirik Glambek Bøe, a couple of songs feature Leslie Feist, my favourite currently being Love Is A Lonely Thing.
Kings Of Convenience videos also make great creative use of the seemingly dull concept of two guys strumming acoustic guitars and lead single Rocky Trail is no exception:
Rocky Trail: Kings Of Convenience (2021)
Despite the small-but-perfectly-formed Kings Of Convenience catalogue, Erlend Øye is a prolific artist, with solo albums, collaborations (La Comitiva) and more funky four-piece The Whitest Boy Alive.
Here are a few highlights from You Tube, in no particular order and not intended as a 'best of':
Lockdown Blues: Erlend Øye & La Comitiva (2020)
Misread: Kings Of Convenience (2009)
Sheltered Life (Radio Edit): Erlend Øye (2003)
Toxic Girl (Monte Carlo 1963 Version): Kings Of Convenience (2001)
Golden Cage (Album Version): The Whitest Boy Alive (2006)
La Prima Estate (Cover of Bruno Martino): Erlend Øye (2013)
And here is a fun live performance by The Whitest Boy Alive in a Berlin shop window:
1517 (Live in Berlin): The Whitest Boy Alive (2009)
And to finish on a (natural) high, here's one of my favourite ever Fred Falke remixes. The uplifting beats are underpinned by a sense of loss and regret and the simple but brilliant couplet,
So of course I miss you and I miss you bad
But I also felt this way when I was still with you
But I also felt this way when I was still with you
Sorry, I got a bit sidetracked there. Did I mention that there's a new Kings Of Convenience album out?
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