KENT

For this week's single artist, we travel to the Kingdom of Sweden -- enchanted land of Saabs and ABBA. Smorgasbords. Socialism. Suicide. And such pretty, pretty people that Hitler secretly dreamed he was Swede. Truth be told, though, Sweden has become something of a musical hotbed in recent years. The Hives. Sahara Hotnights. The (International) Noise Conspiracy. Mando Diao. The Sounds. And, taken together, they have succeeded in making the sugar-sweet days of Roxette-and-Aqua pop seem just a silly, distant memory.

But today we are shining our all-powerful klieg light on Kent, a band from the lovely city of Eskilstuna. Actually, I have no idea if it's a lovely city or not, but let's just go ahead and say that it is.

Kent formed in the early '90s, released their first record in 1995, and have been big sellers in their home country since at least 1997. Alas, they are little known in North America, no doubt getting lost amongst the countless other one-word, post-Radiohead types (Travis, Coldplay, Doves, Elbow, Paloalto, Starsailor, Muse, et al.). Muse may well be the most accurate comparison, though Kent is generally more mellow; their singer less prone to shrieky hysterics. Also, Kent sing most of their songs in Swedish, so be forewarned.

Now, as for that aforementioned smorgasbord...


"Karleken Vantar"/Kent (from the LP Vapen & Ammunition, 2002)
KarlekenVantar-mp3 [left-click]

"Parlor"/Kent (from the LP Vapen & Ammunition, 2002)
Parlor-mp3 [left-click]

"Du Ar Anga"/Kent (from the LP Du & Jag Doden, 2005)
DuArAnga-mp3 [left-click]