Don’t take their name too seriously; The Whitest Boy Alive were clearly going for tongue-in-cheek when they selected that moniker, because there’s nothing especially restricted about their music; they had one of the most diverse sounds in indie pop, incorporating touches of jazz, funk, eighties new wave and even, at times, house. They only turned out two records - Dreams in 2006, and a follow-up in Rules in 2009 - but continued to tour prodigiously, and it was on stage that their unique sound really came to blossom. Singer, Erland Oye, who looks like Norway’s answer to Brendan Canning from Broken Social Scene, might have fronted the band, but in truth, The Whitest Boy Alive’s live shows were about as collaborative as gigs get. In front of a large LED screen displaying minimalist visuals, the four-piece took advantage of the fluidity of their sound, often jamming out their tracks and allowing them to segue into one another. They did it all between the four of them, too, with pretty much every member serving as a multi-instrumentalist onstage, eschewing the need for extra members. Last month, they announced that they’d disbanded, ruling out the prospect of further dates; it’d be a shame if they didn’t reform at some point, because they were one of the most intriguing propositions in indie.

Was responsible for a couple of the more quietly influential releases of the early 2000s -- 's wispily gentle, prophetically titled debut and his affable, microhouse-popularizing set, not to mention his fine vocal contributions to 's early singles -- all thoroughly excellent if hardly earth-shattering work. In the latter part of the decade, though, his output and impact seemed sadly diminished as he lapsed into a middling, milquetoast groove as frontman for the smooth pop outfit. The group's second outing is, like everything touches, never less than pleasant, poppy, and unfailingly polite. And his Berlin-based bandmates know their way around a nimble lite-funk strut as well as anyone ( come to mind, as do in their more straightforward moments). Newly official member, in particular, offers some tastily chunky electric piano tidbits; his presence on every track (as opposed to only two) helps make this a fuller-sounding affair than the band's debut, as well as somewhat more kinetic.

And 's croon is as golden as ever, gliding through his earnestly considered reflections on ill-fated relationships. But sound is one thing and spirit another, and the album feels, on the whole, more tired than inspired. A handful of marginal highs aside (the minor urgency of 'Courage,' the fluid sobriety of 'Gravity'), it's hard to shake the feeling that would be a lot more satisfying if it broke a few more.

The Whitest Boy Alive started as an Electronic Dance music project in 2003. It has slowly developed into a band without any programmed elements. Fm 2005 download. Of course, one might notice, that most of the songs on Rules have one thing in common: move your body! We are no longer composing or playing together as The Whitest Boy Alive. The Rules we made for ourself became a Golden Cage. Thanks for all the support and love we have received during the years.