Dreams

The Whitest Boy Alive | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 19, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Asound / Bubbles
• ASIN: B000H7I3Q4
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,281 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

You may know Erlend Øye from Kings of Convenience. The Bergen-based Norwegian singer has been a huge figure in the electronic music scene for years, but with Whitest Boy Alive, his new project with German DJ Marcin Oez, Erlend's gone the opposite route, creating stripped down rock music without layering, editing or effects. The simple combination of drums, bass, guitar and Erlend's breezy, yet intimate voice create a sound that is both funky and melancholy. A truly original pop band making the simplest sounding dance songs in the most organic way, this is one of the best rock albums you will hear this year.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars minimal music, August 2, 2006

By 

David Vergara (münster, germany) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dreams (Audio CD)

The whitest boy alive, a berlin-based band centered upon frontman and guitarrist erlend oye, is a vivid example of how honest music can be done in a very passionate and simplistic way without going to extremes.

What strikes me the most about this band is how incredibly "clean" it sounds. Every instrument (drums, bass, guitar and rhodes) is present and can be individually heard out because it stands up from the rest. Nevertheless, this does not mean the band does not work as a whole. It is just an evidence for great musicianship and a great recording. It is a pleasure to listen to the great bass riffs played here, given the fact that the bass in most current bands just adds "fill" but does not really stand out, playing more of a "passive" role.

The bass here takes up much of the band's groove, and it inevitably reminds me of sting's playing style in the police.

I would recomend this band to everyone who is tired of hearing over-produced bands with "massive" sound that blends instruments with others is such way to create a terrible wall of sound and noise.

To be honest, i did not expect less of Erlend Oye, knowing and enjoying the great quality and professionality of the electronic music he has done to this date.

enjoy.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars DJ's Collaborate on Successful Minimalist Rock Album, October 20, 2006

By 

Kristian A. Strom "Bookseller" (Andover, KS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dreams (Audio CD)

For years, I have associated this honor? (Whitest Boy Alive) with the likes of Doogie Howser, Elvis Presley's "In the Ghetto", Bill Laimbeer's vertical leap, and the dude from Powder. Today, this moniker took on new meaning, as Norwegian DJ/Kings of Convenience frontman Erlend Oye released his newest side project (hopefully) with German DJ Marcin Oez, aptly entitled "Dreams".

Where the Kings' sound is as comfortable as cashmere in any setting, from drinking poolside Mimosas on a Sunday morning, to cuddling by the fireplace on a winter night, to shopping for a birthday present for your sister at Banana Republic, The Whitest Boy Alive is a little less jazzy and a little more minimalist rock. In most songs, the bass, straightforward drumbreat, and breezy guitar riff carry throughout, making it hard to believe that this is the work of two expert DJ's.

Although I have only listened to the album several times, for fear of overplaying it incessantly and having it lose the charm I associate with Erlend's lyrics, the desired effect works for me. While part of the charm of the singer's hush vocals is making depressing lyrics seem playful and pleasant, tracks like "Done With You" and "Borders" have more of a rainy-day, melancholy tone than previous work. For me, the standout track of the album is "Above You", a funky number that has already claimed a prominent, yet assuredly short-lived stint as my MySpace (is that redundant?) profile song. While it is slightly weak at the break, it kicks in with one of the most pleasant guitar over guitar over keytar riffs of the year in the second chorus.

If you are a fan of the Kings of the Convenience, you should enjoy "Dreams." If you are unfamiliar with the Kings, I would highly recommend checking out "Riot on an Empty Street", which is one of my favorite albums of the decade, before deciding to buy "Dreams".

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Groove beats the blues, September 28, 2006

By 

M.Jensen "Joejordan" (Copenhagen, Denmark) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dreams (Audio CD)

Having done the strictly acoustic thing with Kings of Convenience and travelled the world succesfully for electronic aspiration, Erlend Oye returns with this Berlin-based outfit. Using no electronics and basing songs around a top of the drawer rhythm section dueled by simplistic and charming guitar riffing and Rhodes like the first raindrops falling, "Dreams" succeeed in sheer originality.

Keeping things minimal, groovy and razorsharp, Oye and co will hold you victim before you know it. Standout tracks include trippy "Done with you", "Inflation" featuring the best bass line Andy Rourke didn't get to play on that first "The Smiths" album, the high school-like workout "Golden Cage", the wicked funk of "Above you" and the majestic "Don't give up". Often wrongly termed melancholic, empathic is the right term. It's Oye's interpretation of human emotions that makes these songs the real thing.

"Dreams" has been the soundtrack of my summer, as such I should give it a 5* rating. Having seen the band in concert, I must however reserve the 5 stars for that out of the ordinary ability to cut the songs live. Go see them at any cost, they deliver the best night out around. Thanks guys, you made me smile and dance for a week. Crazy, beautiful and skilled people!