Declaration of Dependence [CD]

“Music your parents like too” is how Kings of Convenience describe themselves on their MySpace profile. It’s a telling statement; self-effacing, sure, but not without a grain of truth – a tacit acknowledgement that the music Eirik Bøe and Erlend Øye make isn’t the kind to offend millions, move mountains, part oceans. No, it’s lovely, pretty, well crafted; it’s nice. And sometimes, well, that’s just plenty.

After a prolonged period of inactivity, the pair reconvened in Mexico to play their first show in two years, where Declaration of Dependence was gestated (on the very beach that features on the album cover, in fact). Its title aims to set right the bad press ‘dependence’ often receives, reflecting the fruitful working relationship the duo share. More than that, it also addresses the perils of the modern age: the plethora of options and opportunity surrounding us that threatens to engulf and consume as much as it does amuse and enlighten. 

Of course, such worldly cogitation doesn’t fall squarely under the ‘nice’ bracket, and this record (the band’s third) boasts enough twists and turns to elevate it far above the banal. The sparse pleas of Renegade – and its haunting parting shot – are memorable and affecting, while the sedate arpeggios of album closer Scars on Land resonate long after it ceases to play. A distinctive bossa nova streak also runs through the album, making its presence felt early in the delightful Mrs. Cold and culminating on the whimsical Freedom and Its Owner.

Riot on an Empty Street also features, an evocative number dating back to 2001, forming a perpetual thorn in the duo’s side in terms of recording the thing. It’s gorgeous, but no more so than 24-25, which opens proceedings: a serene jam where Bøe and Øye’s gossamer harmonies entwine around each other with nimble grace.

It sets a high precedent, and one that Declaration of Dependence emphatically lives up to. Perhaps the highest compliment you can pay Kings of Convenience in 2009 is that for an act whose success stems directly from their effortlessly intuitive style, they’ve never sounded quite as effortless – or as intuitive – as they do here.

Heck, your parents will probably like it too. --James Skinner

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Kings of Convenience's third album, Declaration of Dependence, is a wonderful record for a lot of reasons. For one, Eirik Bøe is equally comfortable talking about the record’s "serious ideas" and laughing about its "hi-brow Bossa Nova" moments while his partner Erlend Øye is clearly thrilled by making, "the most rhythmical pop record ever that features no percussion or drums". For another, there is no one who makes records like they do. "When we started out we were afraid of sounding like other artists," Erlend says. "But now we feel pretty much alone." But the most striking thing about this album is how powerfully it reminds you that making music together is not a game, it’s not something to be undertaken lightly, this record is part of a much larger picture, a long and involved relationship that has had its good and bad times.

As beautiful as you would expect–-and songs like "Second to Numb", "Rule My World" and "24-25" are as perfectly realised as anything they’ve ever written-–Declaration of Dependence also marks the beginning of a new era for the duo. The record began to take shape in February 2007 when they met up on the same beach in Mexico that is pictured on the album's cover. The pair came together to play a concert in the city the following month, the first time they had appeared together in more than two years. They shared a feeling that there was another record to be made. “Really,” says Eirik “We had no choice.”

Declaration of Dependence is the story of two people living two very different lives sensing that they are immensely more powerful together than apart. In that sense it is the most adult, the most mature record Kings of Convenience have ever made. That it is their most gripping, their most revealing is, if anything, just a by-product of that honesty and their endeavour.