Amazon.co.uk Review
Although Kings Of Convenience are keen to play down any blatantly self-evident similarities to
Nick Drake,
Simon and Garfunkel and
Belle and Sebastian, the winsome and placidity favouring Norwegian duo of Erlend Oye and Eirik Glambek Boe have probably already got the subway buskers of tomorrow queuing up to lend an ear. Student-like in appearance (one of them has got a duffel coat and John Major specs) and unashamed to softly impart such non-rock lyrics as "put the kettle on" and "using
The Guardian as a shield to cover my thighs against the rain", the weightless and airy acoustic guitar muse of
Quiet Is The New Loud isn't a million miles from Radiohead's "Nice Dream" or Pink Floyd's "If" with a subliminal swish of bossa-nova rhythm. A contentedly purring cello, a plaintive touch of piano and the muffled sound of a trumpet adds necessary sonic depth and the results are as pleasant and civilised as a little light conversation over tea in the drawing room. But what a shame they chose to name themselves after a lavatory. --
Kevin Maidment
CD Description
Emerging in 2001 on a small wave of hype touting Norway as a new musical hotbed, QUIET IS THE NEW LOUD was startling inits earnestness, even to ears that had been softened by thelikes of Belle & Sebastian. Where that Scottish band tempers its twee-ness with clever, winking wordplay, Erlend Oye and Eirik Glambek Boe are more akin to a latter-day Simon & Garfunkel or a couple of Nick Drakes who are lucky to have found each other.
Disarmingly sensitive, poetic tracks such as "Parallel Lines" ("What's the immaterial substance that envelops two/That one perceives as hunger and the other as food") are sung by the duo in honeyed harmonies with a pleasantly laid-back delivery. Oye and Boe eschew drums on all but two tracks (upbeat highlights "Toxic Girl" and "Failure"), simply using layered guitars and the occasional string, piano, or trumpet flourish to accent the hushed power of their songs. The overall effect is one of bedroom introspection, well suited to their nostalgic, inward-looking lyrics.