Kings Of Convenience - Riot On An Empty Street Vinyl LP

When Norwegian duo Kings of Convenience released their Astralwerks debut Quiet Is the New Loud in 2001, they were hailed as leaders of a “New Acoustic” movement. With hushed Simon & Garfunkel–like harmonies and crystalline guitar patterns, they stood in stark contrast to the era’s garage rock and emo punk. Their 2004 follow-up, Riot on an Empty Street, sustains that fragile beauty—melancholy yet bittersweet—while expanding their palette. Erlend Øye and Eirik Glambek Bøe weave Nick Drake–inspired folk with João Gilberto–tinged bossa nova, pairing heartfelt emotion with cerebral detachment. The result is another set of songs as carefully conceived as their debut, proving that the Kings’ whispers can still cut deeper than any scream.