Rules

One of my favorite singles last year was Fred Falke's remix of the Whitest Boy Alive's "Golden Cage", a glossy, euphoric piece of electro-pop that mutated a gentle, unassuming disco comedown into a late-decade bookend to Daft Punk's "Digital Love". Yet despite the way Falke's remix brought out the best qualities of his syrupy, lonesome voice, Whitest Boy (and Kings of Convenience) head Erlend Øye is most comfortable when he's a bit subdued and quiet. And as much as m assive house beats complement his vocals, he seems most at home when his musical surroundings undergo the same state of half-withdrawn restraint that he's in. Even in shifting from Kings of Convenience's acoustic pastoralism to the plugged-in, dance-friendly pop of the Whitest Boy Alive, Øye seemed like he was aiming not for bars or nightclubs, but the headphones of people walking down empty streets.