Track Listing

1. Winning A Battle Losing The War
2. Toxic Girl
3. Singing Softly To Me
4. I Don't Know What I Can Save You From
5. Failure
6. Weight Of My Words
7. Girl From Back Then
8. Leaning Against The Wall
9. Little Kids
10. Summer On The Westhill
11. Passenger
12. Parallel Lines

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3381 in Music
• Released on: 2001-01-29
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

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.

Customer Reviews

Absolutely beautiful...You must own this record
This album is unusually beautiful. I came across King of Convienience by chance, and my music collection has been infinitely enhanced. Every track on this album is an absolute gem. People will at first make the inevitable comparison to Simon and Garfunkel, with moments of Nick Drake. Do not believe them. It cannot be pinned down. This album is a true lady and does not reveal her full charm at first. There is a hint of leg on tracks like 'Toxic Girl', and a bit of flirting on 'Failure'. Then you realise that 'Singing softly to me' is true love, (I have it on constant repeat), 'Summer on the westhill' is gorgeous, with pitch perfect voices. The starkness of their voices and guitars, and the occasional drum beat demands your full attention. The lyrics suit the music and the whole thing is...um...harmoniously divine! This is a must buy album, for anybody who likes good music. It can not be categorised, it is just perfect. Buy this album, Buy two in case something happens to one of them...Buy it!

Hazy Summer And Reflective Smoke-Filled Nights
Some albums can cheer you up, others bring you back down but very rarely there's an album which you can listen to at any time, irrespective of your mood. Well, here is such an album.

Being a fan of the new acoustic movement and its inherent contrast to the angst and rage of the parallel motion of nu metal, I was absolutely delighted to have found an album that can figurehead all of the principles held by the genre. To me these principles would be soft vocals, gentle guitars and a fragile, breathless nature.

Each track on this album has these qualities in abundance, as well as the ability to add variety with a summery trumpet or string section. I've been listening to this album for four months now and I still want to go back and hear it all again.

As close as any album can come to quiet perfection, these hazy summer vignettes breathe life into the acoustic genre and beyond. Quite fantastic and a must have.

Supreme Songwriting, Beautiful Music... A Classic
By far one of the most beautiful albums i have come across. Comparisons to Simon and Garfunkel are justified to a certain extent, but the voices of Erlend Oye and Eirik Glambek Boe are, I feel, superior in that they have more richness of quality and are totally smooth to listen to.

The songs are perfect: hints of sadness, yearning, reflection and hope lie behind the lyrics. Oh, and speaking of the lyrics, these are completely beautiful and moving ("all the times I sacrificed myself to make you want me/has made you haunt me", "I will never know the names of these places that I travel through to reach the coastline/I've been told I will be there in time")

Outstanding tracks include "I Don't Know What I Can Save You From", "Winning a Battle", "Singing Softly To Me" and "The Weight of my Words".

Don't even stop to think - go out and buy this album now. You'll be blown away.