Erlend Oye - Unrest

The debut album by Erland Oye's "real band" Kings of Convenience was one of 2001's most welcome surprises; a mellow slice of old-school melody that melded Belle and Sebastian's pastoral, low-key quirkiness with the classic harmonies of Simon and Garfunkel. While the KOC disc was well received, Oye embarks on a completely different sonic direction with his solo debut, Unrest. Written in 10 different cities with 10 different producers, Unrest explores themes of heartbreak and ennui, but without the slightest hints of boring, woe-is-me melancholy; instead, acoustic guitars are brushed aside to pay the way for dancefloor electronica and a heavy 80s synth-pop influence. The resulting disc is - much like the Postal Service's sublime Give Up - an album as suitable for introspection as it is ass-shaking. The 808 handclaps and buoyantly retro keyboard lines make you forget that almost all Unrest's lyrics ("wake up at noon/to hear the rain/it's a frame that suits me fine") are incredibly bummed-out. But forget line after gloomy line, Unrest is all about the production, which showcases an almost embarrassing amount of quality work - particularly from Metro Area/DFA contributor Morgan Geist, SchneiderTM, and even downtempo indie hip-hopper Prefuse 73. While the Kings of Convenience could continue to release album after album of bedroom strumming to an eager fanbase, one can only hope that Erlend Oye continues down the far more interesting path that his solo effort sets out upon. Not since the heyday of Depeche Mode and New Order has heartbreaking pop songcraft and electronic production come together so well. [www.erlendoye.com]