Riot from Kings of Convenience

The album Riot on an Empty Street by Kings of Convenience is an excellent example of an old adage. It is so old that it sounds new again. When I say old, I mean music created by Bread or America, Chad & Jeremy, Peter, Paul & Mary or maybe even the Kingston Trio or the Brothers Four. Truth to tell, I expected to hear Simon & Garfunkel intro with "Hello darkness, my old friend…" at the end of every cut. It is indeed a sound that we have all heard many times before.

There has been a lot of this kind of guitar-based soft rock music in the past years. In fact, it has already gone by various names: folk, mellow rock and acoustic recording are those that instantly come to mind. While it has never really lost its following and is always great to listen to, there is really nothing exciting about it anymore. Still, it is great to find this young duo from Bergen, Norway who call themselves the Kings of Convenience taking the genre so seriously they have made the sound their very own.

Erlend Oye and Eirik Glambeck Boe started out with the rock band Skog. They went their own way when the group went kaput but hooked up again when they both ended up in London during the late ‘90s. It was then that they started doing small gigs where they sang their own compositions accompanied by their guitars. Mellow and intimate, simple and totally unpretentious, people could not help but fall for the music they made. It did not take long before these two guys found themselves with a fast-growing fan base and at the forefront of the New Acoustic Movement.

The Movement did not prosper but acoustic music and its pretty harmonies did all over the world. Take note it was during this time when Paolo Santos, Nyoy Volante, Jimmy Bondoc, Nina and other local "acoustic artists" first hit the big time.

Kings of Convenience’s first album Quiet is the New Loud made up of all-new original materials, was released worldwide four years ago. And quiet indeed became the new loud as music lovers quietly expressed they already have enough of noisy rock and R&B and would much rather listen to Kings of Convenience. Quiet is the New Loud became one of those albums that pleased the critics but also yielded hits, namely Toxic Girl and Failure.

Erlend and Eirick once more went their own ways after touring as Kings of Convenience. Eirick studied Psychology in Norway while Erlend took the solo route. Again, the separation did not prove permanent and Kings of Convenience recently came up with its second album of new works. Take note of the title Riot on an Empty Street. Just as the first one was certainly not "loud," this one is also no "riot." But it is music even more compelling than before as Erlend and Eirick experiment with assorted rhythms and other musical instruments to complement their guitar work. The vocals’ two-part harmonies stay the same, though.

Titles included are Homesick, Misread, Cayman Islands, Stay Out of Trouble, Know-how, Sorry or Please, Love is No Big Truth, I’d Rather Dance with You, Surprise Ice and Gold in the Air of Summer. Hot Canadian song artist Feist joins the Kings in Live Long and The Build-up.

Top hits in the US

Meanwhile, out there in the US, rapper 50 Cent continues to ride high in the hit charts. Here is the Top 10 in Billboard Hot 100 singles list: Candy Shop by 50 Cent featuring Olivia; Hate It or Love It by The Game featuring 50 Cent; Since U Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson; Lonely by Akon; Obsession (No es Amor) by Frankie J featuring Baby Bash; Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day; Disco Inferno by 50 Cent; 1 Thing by Amerie; Lonely No More by Rob Thomas and Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani. Incidentally, Gwen also holds the number 11 slot with her earlier hit single Rich Girl featuring Eve.

The list of Top 10 albums also has 50 Cent on top. Here goes: The Massacre by 50 Cent; The First Lady by Faith Evans; Guero by Beck; Now 18 by Various Artists; Pleasure and Pain by 112; Lost and Found by Will Smith; American Idiot by Green Day; The B. Coming by Beanie Sigel; Now What by Lisa Marie Presley and In Between Dreams by Jack Johnson.