It is, in any case, the title of the now almost nine year old debut album by Norwegians Kings of Convenience, a duo, which has been one of my biggest musical discoveries of the past half year. Quiet Is The New Loud, which quite handily fits the easy-listening bossa nova-indie-pop of Kings of Convenience, is also one of the quintet of new albums I bought a few weeks ago, all of which, besides Trespassers, I have yet to really comment on. Quiet Is The New Loud, for one, has definitely been a pleasurable addition to my collection. It does not really rebel or apply goosebumps or anything, but it is an inordinarily soyeux collection of very nice songs, such as 'Little Kids' here.The suave Norwegians have however been appreciably trumped by one of their nexts-of-kin. We've heard enough now of how Justin Vernon, known to the world as Bon Iver, sat in his ramshackle little cabin, which probably had neither power nor heating, except for the fact that he did manage to record almost an entire album in it, thru the frozen solid Wisconsin winter. But here's the thing: It's all legit indie gossip and romanticism, because For Emma, Forever Ago is an astonishingly beautiful and incomparably heartfelt piece of music of unrivaled brilliance. Especially so, when you give it a chance in a pair of good headphones. It's not just the fact that whoever that whopping cunt Emma were, she really received a proper broadside, but in a beautiful way, rather than the emo-punk way in which break-up albums are often fashioned. It is as much the enjoyment of all the little layers of voices, noises and frets that makes you feel almost as though you are there, throwing firewood on Vernon's fireplace and serving him chai latte, which a fellow like him must certainly prefer. Take a listen to this live take of 'Skinny Love'. Damn.
In the other alley, more festive, less whiney, I came across Delphic when they warmed up for now semi-defunct faves Bloc Party a year ago, and I got a hold of their debut release Acolyte. After a few weeks, I still think this could very well be one of the major debut releases of the year. It's not a Mercury-winner or anything, but in a year that will be very dominated by releases by bands we already know (The Strokes, anyone), I think Acolyte will definitely be on a few end-of-year lists. I like how Delphic have grasped the indie-dance genre in a much more mature and much less silly way than the likes of Hadouken!, Does It Offend You, Yeah? (I mean, just the names...) and Klaxons, among others. I really like the title track (beware: instrumental!) and also 'Clarion Call'.
Finally (or...), Ginger Ninja, the young Danish electro-rockers, have of course released their debut, Wicked Map, which admittedly didn't warm to me initially. It has however grown slightly on me, and while I still miss some of their live energy, it is what can be described as a decent effort. I also finally had a run through Julian Casablancas' Phrazes For The Young. Not so impressive, back to the drawing board (or the guys...) Jules.
And just on the quick quick, I had go at Lungs by Florence + The Machine this morning. Pretty impressive, although I didn't expect otherwise. Might be a gig to see at Roskilde. I also went through Efterklang's new album the other day. A bit iffy, I've never quite accustomed myself to their records, but they're an amazing live act when they roll out the full monty.
