Now that’s a royal flush

I Was A King leader makes a happy accident with all-star friends

When asked if his band, I Was A King, encountered any happy accidents while recording their new self-titled disc in Brooklyn, singer/guitarist Frode Strømstad laughs in his thick Norwegian accent, “The whole thing.”

Originally intending to take a quick jaunt to the States to lay down a few songs with friend Gary Olson of Ladybug Transistor, Strømstad encountered a three-day rush of songwriting inspiration and cobbled together almost a dozen tracks, then added more to the pile upon returning to Oslo.

The result is a pop connect-the-dots of sorts — from the psych swirl of “Golden Years” to the SoCal lilt of “Stay Warm” to the Teenage Fanclub wash of “Norman Bleik,” the title of the latter tune a nod to that band’s leader.

Sufjan Stevens, Daniel Smith (of Danielson) and Emil Nikolaisen (of Serena Maneesh) all make guest appearances on I Was A King’s sophomore album, with Nikolaisen contributing most drum and bass parts.

“You get people seeing things differently than I would have done myself,” Strømstad says of the collaborations. “The more people got involved I said, ‘Do whatever you want.’”

And the outfit, which performs live as a five-piece, is nothing if not succinct: The disc’s 15 tracks clock in at 31 minutes, with only one entry over the three-minute mark.

Of that, Strømstad says he doesn’t like repeating himself: “If you have a good chorus or a good verse, it becomes stronger when it becomes repeated only once.” 

I Was A King
with Elevator Parade, Phantogram and Catholic Block
Tonight, 9 p.m., The M Room
15 W. Girard Ave.
$10, 215-739-5577
www.themanhattanroom.com