We’ve covered Erlend Øye‘s latter career already, but when he started out he was merely a member of a rather good acoustic duo, Kings of Convenience.
Key moments
They managed a number of minor UK hits, with Failure, Toxic Girl, and I’d Rather Dance with You, but they’re definitely an album band.
Where to start
Start at the beginning with the brilliant Quiet is the New Loud (2001). If you never buy anything else, you do at least have a great chillout album.
What to buy
Follow up the debut with its companion remix album Versus (also 2001) for a very different perspective on many of the same tracks. That leaves the second and third albums Riot on an Empty Street (2004) and Declaration of Dependence (2009), neither of which quite has the charm of the first, but both have some great moments.
Don’t bother with
Any of the singles. Also, if you weren’t too sure about the second album, you might want to give the third one a miss – each one is marginally less memorable than its predecessor.
Hidden treasure
Velferd‘s free 2013 remix of unreleased Rule My World is great, if you can still find it floating around anywhere.
For stowaways