Kings Of Convenience - Toxic Girl

APR 09 2001 · 12:00

Kings Of Convenience - Toxic Girl (2001) Director: François Nemeta Era: Post-Britpop Acoustic Revival (2001) - Peak era of the 'Quiet Is the New Loud' indie folk movement; stripped-back aesthetics as counter-programming to late-90s maximalism High curatorial value as a rare, confirmed-35mm artefact of the early-2000s Scandinavian indie folk moment, directed by a French filmmaker with deep ties to Michel Gondry's creative ecosystem. The video's naturalistic Bergen location photography, unhurried pacing, and warm analogue palette make it an exemplary counterpoint to the era's dominant digital-gloss aesthetic, and a primary source document for researchers of both the Kings of Convenience catalogue and European indie visual culture of the period. Context: Released in 2001 as a single from 'Quiet Is the New Loud', 'Toxic Girl' emerged at the crest of a small but influential movement in the European pop underground that prized acoustic intimacy and subtle songwriting over production spectacle. The album's title itself became shorthand for a counter-cultural stance against maximalist late-90s pop. The video's 35mm Bergen location shoot literalises this philosophy visually, ordinary Nordic urban geography rendered with warmth and intimacy, foregrounding human presence over cinematic artifice. The song later gained significant US exposure through a 2002 AT&T Wireless television commercial and appeared in the film 'Shallow Hal', marking a rare crossover moment for an otherwise resolutely indie act. Director notes: The video for 'Toxic Girl' was shot on 35mm film on location in Bergen, Norway, the hometown of Kings of Convenience. The production uses the 'Monte Carlo 1963' version of the song, which features additional string arrangements compared to the standard album version on 'Quiet Is the New Loud'. The choice of 35mm and on-location naturalistic shooting in Bergen is consistent with Nemeta's documentary-influenced, intimate visual style evident in his other work of the period. IMDb credits both Eirik Glambek Bøe and Erlend Øye as appearing as themselves.