September 30th, 2009 9:22am
Too Close To Your Boundaries
Kings of Convenience “Mrs. Cold”
There is a generosity in the very sound of Erlend Øye’s voice, but it’s understated and rather matter-of-fact so he always comes off as a sweet, romantic diplomat. That’s certainly the role he plays in “Mrs. Cold,” a sparse, gentle ballad in which he negotiates a conflict with a lover who is putting up a chilly, defensive front. There are lines that could seem condescending in another context, but Øye delivers them without any trace of ill will, and a clear respect for the person he is addressing. He doesn’t back down from his point of view, but he seems open and willing to listen and forgive. Pop songs tend to favor a more hysterical and stubborn approach to relationship troubles, but I quite like and relate to this forthright yet mellow approach to communication.
Buy it from Amazon.
9/30/09 12:47 pm
That’s incredibly insightful, and I think you’ve put your finger on what it is I love so much about KoC. Without being over-intellectual or dorky about it, they present a truly adult take on relationships. Pop, as you said, is very good at conveying the inchoate rush of adolescent feeling, every nerve exposed, everything HUGE and IMMEDIATE and OVERWHELMING - and sometimes it’s nice to remember how that felt, to vicariously re-experience that.
But the day-to-day reality of grown-up relationships is so much more measured than that - give and take between two parties, trying to find common ground, to respectfully disagree, to carry on with the hard work of loving each other. And it is hard work. And that message is so at odds with the popular (i.e., adolescent) notion of love that sometimes a guy can start to feel guilty about not being OVERWHELMED by the HUGENESS and IMMEDIACY of love and desire. And there’s Erlend to remind you that you’re not the only one struggling with this stuff.
So, yeah. New Kings = Me happy.
10/2/09 3:37 am
Great track. I forgot all about them. Cheers.
10/7/09 10:03 am
I listened to this without reading the review first and was struck by the familiarity with which he delivers the “Hey baby” lines, and then lo and behold, that’s the point of the review. Nice.