THE DUO KNOWN AS KINGS OF Convenience?dubbed as Norway?s answer to America?s Simon & Garfunkel?was in town to play to a small but enthusiastic crowd recently at the NBC Tent in Taguig.

Bespectacled Erlend Øye and his less nerdy-looking partner, Eirik Glambek Bøe, dish out reflective pop music with vocal harmonies and acoustic guitars. But if Simon & Garfunkel were a folk-rock team, KoC is an indie pop act. We?d like to call its music ?geekoustic pop,? given the members? college kid looks and introspective musings on the complexities of love.

Labels aside, KoC is one of the more pleasant acts of the recent decade. Its music is pop enough to appeal to radio die-hards, yet the songs? lyrics and melodies are a bit more intricate than most FM listeners tolerate. The duo could well be the missing link between the mass-appealing Simon & Garfunkel and Scottish indie pop band Belle and Sebastian.

KoC may never pack a venue like the Araneta Coliseum, but it has a good enough following here to warrant the move of its first ever Philippine gig from a small Makati club to the roomier NBC Tent.

The show?mounted by Intercept!, the production group of fashion designer Kate Torralba, indie promoter and Dorques frontman Joff Cruz, and filmmaker-musician Quark Henares?attracted curious music aficionados and certified fans alike, the latter clapping and singing along to KoC?s best-known tunes. It helped that the sound system was excellent.

Although majority of the repertoire were tracks from the duo?s third and latest album, 2009?s ?Declaration of Dependence,? it also included some of the best-loved tunes from its 2001 debut, ?Quiet is the New Loud? and 2004?s ?Riot on an Empty Street.?

Even if its music is hushed and tempered, KoC is not a ho-hum live act?notwithstanding the distraction caused by a chatty bunch in the crowd. Øye chastised the noisy spectators after a few moments.

Contrary to the loner vibe that their tunes suggest, Øye and Bøe were lively and given to humorous quips; Bøe even posed for a crowd-as-backdrop photo.

Natural high

For the main set?s closing number, ?I?d Rather Dance With You,? the duo called on its opening act, Swedish singer-songwriter-guitarist Jens Lekman and Filipino-Australian percussionist Raquel Solier. The four jammed like there was no tomorrow, with Øye dancing suggestively, drunk on the music?s natural high and the audience reception.

While KoC closed its encore with the typically somber and partly self-referential ?Homesick,? the group preceded this with Øye?s mock ode to recent Manila visitor Justin Timberlake?s ?What If,? and a winking cover of Lesley Gore?s ?It?s My Party.?

All told, this small gig was a big success. It can pave the way for other fresh-sounding musical artists to do more concerts here. In other words, this KoC show may well be, for a good number of us, a declaration of ?indie-pendence.?