FEATURE:
Misread
Kings of Convenience's Riot on an Empty Street at Twenty
_________
UNLIKE some albums…
turning twenty this year, Kings of Convenience’s Riot on an Empty Street probably won’t get the same attention. It is a quiet storm. Something swelling, beautiful, dramatic and vivid. It is a gentle album, yet one with such rich and sumptious vocals and wonderfully immersive lyrics. Songs that bring you inside. Ones you are captivated by. The second studio album from the brilliant Norwegian duo, Erlend Øye and Eirik Glambek Bøe, two of the songs feature Feist – Know How and The Build Up. I wanted to shine a full light on a really brilliant album that turns twenty on 21st June. I remember buying the album and not knowing what to expect. Three years after their remarkable debut, Quiet Is the New Loud, Riot on an Empty Street offered more of the same thing. If anything, their second studio album sounded bigger and fuller than their debut. You could feel that life in confidence and scope. Produced by Kings of Convenience and Davide Bertolini, I think that some reviewers missed out on Riot on an Empty Street. Others did not give it the praise it truly deserved. I can understand some doubts or criticisms against Riot on an Empty Street. For an album that tries to bring in more Dance and Electronic influences, maybe the blend is not quite right. Perhaps an album that nods more to the past rather than comes into the twenty-first century. Also, Feist perhaps underused or not given the strongest parts. There is also this sense of politeness and few risks. If you know what to expect and are not thinking it is going to be a big evolution from their 2011 debut, then Riot on an Empty Street offers plenty. The production is bigger and fuller. The duo’s most recent album, 2021’s Peace or Love, was praised. It retained their core sound but brought in Bossa Nova influences. Being released during the pandemic, perhaps it did not the attention and full exposure it would otherwise have enjoyed.
I do really love Riot on an Empty Street. The fact that Feist introduces a new vocal element. The standout tracks like Misread, I’d Rather Dance with You, Surprise Ice and The Build Up. Each time you pass through the album, you will discover something new. It is a beautifully deep album that is a lot more than surface. I feel some critics did not pay as much attention to Riot on an Empty Street as they should. Denying themselves of something stunning. I want to bring in a review from AllMusic. This is what they observed when they assessed the 2004 album from Erlend Øye and Eirik Glambek:
“Riot on an Empty Street ends a long period of inactivity for Kings of Convenience. During their three-year layoff Erlend Øye could be found making solo records and DJing while Eirik Glambek Boe was finishing his psychology degree. Luckily for fans of beautiful vocals and thoughtful indie pop, they decided to get back together. What this band is all about is the sound of Boe and Øye's voices blended together in harmony. Their first album (in both incarnations) erred on the side of consistency. Here the band seems to have learned the all-important lesson of pace and variety. The arrangements are fuller too with pianos, strings, the occasional electric guitar, and lovely guest vocals on two tracks from Broken Social Scene member Leslie Feist. Not to say that they have gone crazy with change. They still stick pretty closely to the acoustic guitars and vocals path, and the tone of the album is autumnal and restrained as before. They have just added more songs like the gently driving "Misread," the lilting waltz "Stay Out of Trouble," and the downright peppy "I'd Rather Dance With You." Øye's side trip into electronica only rears its head on the non-electronic but modern-sounding "Love Is No Big Truth." No matter what the song, though, when their tender, fragile voices harmonize it can be breathtaking. And heartbreaking. The moment in "Surprise Ice" when Eirik is joined by Erland will raise goose bumps. There are many others like that on Riot, and they are what sells the record. If you sort of liked the first record but wished it was more interesting, that it had more punch of both the sonic and emotional variety, then your wishes have come true”.
I do hope that there are plans to bring Riot on an Empty Street to vinyl. I am having a hard time finding too many options. As it is twenty on 21st June, it would be a good time to consider it. A really gorgeous album that you can lose yourself in, I would also hope people revisit it. Maybe opinions have changed. Though it received generally favourable reviews – The Independent gave it five stars; The Guardian four -, those who provided three-star takes or were a little mixed might do well to listen back now. I want to end with a review from No Depression. They make some interesting observations about the sumptuous Riot on an Empty Street:
“Over the last two decades, the idea that “dance music” could ever signify a static, all-encompassing genre has essentially passed. “Dance” has since melted down into a giant puddle of prefix-and-suffix-affixed subcultures, and Norwegian folk duo Kings Of Convenience are rallying for the inclusion of one more: post-club.
Part-time (and widely acclaimed) DJ Erlend Oye and his songwriting partner Erik Glambek Boe — adorably credited as “low voice” and “high voice” in the album’s liner notes — play tender folk songs remarkably well-suited to jerky cab rides at dawn, when your vision is foggy at best and home seems awfully far away. With their doleful acoustic guitars, breathy, microphone-eating vocals, and pristine production, Oye and Boe have mastered the art of the comedown.
Riot On An Empty Street, the duo’s third original full-length, nods to the soft intimacy of Nick Drake, and, perhaps surprisingly, fails to reference Oye’s extracurricular electro-jaunts. The Kings tend to avoid electronic flourishes, opting instead for pretty organics: piano, strings, guitar, and the soft muscle of two perfectly harmonized voices.
The opener “Homesick” is a joint love letter from Oye & Boe to Simon & Garfunkel (complete with self-referential longing for “two soft voices blended in perfection”), while “Know How”, featuring Broken Social Scene vocalist Leslie Feist, mixes a swinging, lounge-infused piano melody with sweet, toe-tapping vocals.
Folky, tender, and seeped in gray, pre-dawn light, Riot On An Empty Street is a tender homage to the art of descending”.
If you are unfamiliar with Kings of Convenience or their music, check out their official website. Hopefully we will hear more music from them. They always produce these tender and beautiful albums that have these sparks and bright colours at the edges. Different genre and instrumental influences. All pulling towards the stunning vocal chemistry and harmonies from their duo. As it is twenty this week, I wanted to show Riot on an Empty Street some love. It really is such…
A wonderful album.