Almost four years since their last album, with no word of a new one, Norwegian acoustic duo Kings of Convenience arrived in London for what Eirik Glambek Bøe called "the start of a very unlikely tour". In the next few days he and Erlend Oye will also visit Seoul, Moscow and Istanbul, demonstrating the still powerful global reach of music that is as meek as it comes.
Having emerged as part of the non-stop thrill ride known as the New Acoustic Movement at the start of the last decade, the pair have continued to make hushed autumnal music, ideal for a warm place on a wet day.
They appeared to acknowledge their debt to Simon and Garfunkel as they harmonised on Homesick: “I can’t stop listening to the sound/Of two soft voices blended in perfection/From the reels of this record that I found.”
Yet they were bright, engaging company in their own right, raising a disproportionately passionate audience response to such passive sounds.
Gangly Oye danced and weaved, and a three-piece band, produced in the second half, even mustered an electric guitar solo on Boat Behind.
“Life is full of terrible moments, and this is not one of them,” said Oye. Quite.
