Rufus Wainwright takes on Kings of Convenience
Good morning!
Today we’re taking a look at Poses by Rufus Wainwright (#64) and Kings of Convenience’s Quiet is the New Loud (#65).
Note: As many of you saw, I recently wrote about a Best Record of 2001 challenge and noted that I’d be writing some of these up.
The plan is to do quick hits on each first-round matchup and post them directly to the page. Some will be longer, some won’t, and some might just be a handful of sentences. There’ll probably be a few typos. We’ll also have a few guest posts along the way, so make sure to stay tuned for those!
Check ’em out and let me know your thoughts! Chin wags & hot takes welcome! Sharing and restacks always appreciated.
KA—
Rufus Wainwright’s Poses is baroque pop personified. Strings and piano carry most of the weight here, wrapping even the plainest melodies in old-world finery. It followed his 1998 debut, the one that caught Rolling Stone’s attention and had Elton John calling him “timeless.” By the time Poses arrived, Wainwright was living at the Chelsea Hotel, brushing up against fame, trouble, and everything in between. Poses feels like a record made by someone living in an upscale hotel; the atmosphere feels like it’s surrounded in mahogany and tall-backed chairs…and I really hope that makes as much sense on your screen as it did in my head.
This isn’t a bad record. The production gleams, Wainwright’s voice comes across as a man out of time, and the arrangements feel expensive in the best way. The problem is me. Chamber pop doesn’t do it for me in 2026–and it definitely wouldn’t have been something I was into in 2001. Beyond “California,” most of these songs pass through like a conversation with someone I’ll never see again… in a place like a hotel lobby. Nice enough in the moment, nothing sticky (again, carving out an exception for “California” here.).
Wainwright’s voice reminds me a bit of what Cameron Winter from Geese does—except where Geese lean into the ramshackle, Wainwright pushes the emotion until it circles back around and starts to flatten. Maybe that’s the design? Maybe he’s chasing sincerity so hard it becomes too clever by half? Maybe I missed the point entirely. Either way, I find myself admiring the effort put into it more than I enjoy the ride.
Hooboy, I hope you don’t get tired of hearing me say, “This is a new one for me,” because it’s going to happen a lot over the next few weeks. I’d never even heard of Kings of Convenience before the submission window for this challenge opened. My surface-level take? They’re basically the Norwegian version of The Shins—part of that same narrow vein of quiet, introspective indie folk.
I had heard of The Shins, of course—mostly because everyone alive owned that Garden State soundtrack at some point. Like Wainwright above, I’ve never had much taste for this brand of muted, rainy‑day music. There’s a softness to it I’ve just never connected with. When I was younger, I wanted sharper sounds hitting my ears—you’d think that would mellow with age, but even now I still crave something with an edge.
Look, I get why people dig it (clearly, it made the cut over a few far more deserving records, IMO). But still…this is in that liminal space between “too slow for the Hyatt lobby” and “not new age‑y enough for the spa.”
Bottom Line:
This is a matchup between #64 and #65. In other words, the two records are right in the middle of the bracket. Some would say that’s indicative of a (relatively) broad appeal. Others would say it speaks of middling and ambivalence. Guess which camp I’m in? Matches like this are tough- you want to be objective, but when every fiber of your being is screaming “go listen to something faster!” it’s tough. In baseball, the tie goes to the runner. In today’s matchup, the tie goes to name recognition. Wainwright it is.
Any thoughts on either of these records? Agree/disagree with my takes? Which one of these would you vote for? Sound off in the comments!
Check out the full bracket here.
Info on the tourney, voting, and more is here.
As always, thanks for being here.
KA—
Kevin Sent 
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