The Whitest Boy Alive: Rules

Label: Bubbles

King of Convenience Erlend Øye returns with the second offering from his other outfit, Berlin-based quartet The Whitest Boy Alive. (Side note: Though they’ve been absent from these shores for a while, it appears the Kings are still a casually active affair.) As with Dreams, TWBA’s debut, Rules is what you might expect to hear if you stripped the Euro-cafe moves from The Style Council and distilled their vibe down to its bare, crisp, burbling essence. And, as on the first album, Øye & Co. tapdance around (and occasionally over) the line of sounding overly mannered. But the band also seems more assured, and those steady hands generally keep Rules an engaging pop excursion, with the sort of clipped, live-band beats that could tempt a dancefloor, but really are more at home in your home, maybe helping you transition from a pleasant Saturday afternoon to…whatever you’ve got cooking that night. (M.L. Thrope)