Judging by the cover picture and title of Norwegian indie-pop/Bossa Nova duo King of Convenience's (KoC) latest album, Declaration of Dependence would make a great indie bromance movie. With his over-sized glasses and frizzy, wild hair, Erlend Oye would make a convincing grown-up Napoleon Dynamite. Indeed, the love-hate and co-dependent relationships between Oye and Eirik Boe, are perhaps worthy of a script.
'There's a lot of creative pain when we come together,' says Oye. 'The least enthusiastic person [either of us knows] is always the other.'
'We are opposites in many ways,' Boe adds. 'There's a lot of conflict, a lot of different interests, but we have argued so much over the last few years that now we finally know how to deal with each other.'
That's probably why their songs are so superbly crafted and utterly unique, having survived the tough criticism each gives to the other.
Their delicate tunes and tender voices first broke into the mainstream market and earned a positive reception in 2001 with debut Quiet Is the New Loud. With the help of Coldplay's producer Ken Nelson, their subtle melodies were frequently compared - and rightly so - to the likes of Belle & Sebastian and even Simon and Garfunkel.
In 2004, Riot on an Empty Street proved they could work magic with little more than inexhaustible talent and two guitars. But soon after, the pair decided to take a break. Oye went to Berlin to explore the possibility of solo career in electronic music while Boe returned home to start a family.
Two years after their separation, the pair met up again for a gig on a Mexican beach and realised they were so important to each other they had 'no choice' but to make another record together.
