personal kent evolution

[Doman1526]

I am not here to bash Kent, they are in my top 3, if not favorite band of all time. Introspectively speaking I have seen them decline in quality ever since "You and Me Death". Is that what the album was called? Yes I understand this is all subjective and my own personal opinion. I came across their demos recently and personally think the Socker Demo is even better than the produced version, which was already my favorite song by them. Every album I did not care for, they grew on me. Weapons and Ammo went from being indifferent to one of my favorite albums ever. You and Me Death, I said what is this?!?, but again grew on me, and is phenomenal. The last two albums, sadly never grew on me... And I am a electronica fan, there were definitely some good tunes but overall the albums did not do justice for me. I am not really trying to make a point, but I have been depressed of late and the Socker Demo is one of the few things I love right now. For how long Kent stays together and keeps creating great music, who knows, I just like being there as they keep churning out solid music. They definitely don't get the respect they should since Sweden is the third highest rated music producing country in the world, the only bands that get recognized are the bands that are pushed and marketed to the mainstream in the world. E.G. The Sounds, now granted they use to make great music but their current and last album I don't care for but they are pushed to the mainstream, (their music was in the latest scream movie). Plus it doesn't help that Kent doesn't do English anymore,I know why and respect that. Anyways, sorry for the tangent, I have not posted on this board in years. Well my beer is just about finished, time to go to the bar alone.....

[jimmy k]

I think they were at the top of their game when writing the Du och Jag Döden album and the Hjärta & Smärta EP, bloody fantastic. There's more and more synth n shit now, less guitars, less interesting.

I still bought the Röd and En Plats I Solen cd's but they are hardly played, the others are so covered in scratches n shit i'm surprised they still play, so I bought the box set and put in the cupboard as a spare

[stjärnor]

I'm the opposite, I think Röd might just actually be my favourite kent album.
If you'd told me a few years ago that my most played cd would be electro sounding (there's plenty of guitars in there, they're just distorted to sound less guitar-like), then I wouldn't have believed you. There was no other electo stuff in my collection.

I got into kent around d&jd time, and when I'd got around to buying the back albums, Hagnesta hill became my favourite. Now Röd has the top spot for me.
Don't ask me to rate the rest of my albums, I can't- it varies on my mood. Oddly, v&a, is just 'ok' with me, a friend raves about that album, but it just doesn't wow me.

And that's one of the things I love about kent, they've evolved. I'm quite glad that after all this time they're not just churning out the same stuff they started out with.
And I think that's why kent are still so popular (in Scandinavia & Finland at least), because they're not afraid to try something new, they're still fresh and it's not just 'another kent album' every couple of years.

At the Stockholm concert last July, I was surprised at the wide range of ages there, something else that kent are good at- appealing to a lot of different people.
There were 40-somethings (and up), and young kids all singing along to the same stuff.
Who knows, the older folk might have been there to hear their favourite songs from Isola, but they might love En plats i solen just as much as the young girl I was standing next to?

I can't imagine there will be many of today's bands about in 15-20 years time that will be able still fill venues and sell albums like kent can today.

[bantha]

Hello
I personally think the opposite... I think their evolution started with Hagnesta Hill.
From Du och Jag Döden to En Plats I Solen has been a constant evolution to a more electro/synth sound. It's a personal thing... If you prefer the indie/mellow/guitarish Kent you of course prefer the first part of their discography, if, like me, you are more "synth" orientated you would go for the second half. I absolutely adore DOJD, it is between that and Rod

[Caffrey]

It would be hard for me to narrow down to one specific favorite album. Whether you like the older stuff and think that they newer stuff isn't nearly as good, everyone is entitled to their opinion. But the bottom line for me is that bands have to evolve and try new things. Not necessarily changing as in what the latest fad is. Just moving on as a band and trying new things that fit them at the time.
While I have always loved Hagnesta Hill, both Rod and En Plats i Solen are great. Team Building is a magnificent song and one of my top favorites out of anything Kent has done.
I highly doubt Kent could ever put out anything that I disliked. But if it were to happen I still couldn't fault them for trying to do something different and progress as musicians and a band as a whole.

[JukkeBerry]

I think Kent are doing an excellent job in today's music business. Lasting success is really difficult to achieve. Tastes are more fickle than ever. Even bands that tour their asses off, like The Sounds and The Hives, could lose it all after one unpopular album. Talented bands like The Ark call it a day. I have no clue how Melody Club pay their rents.

In retrospect, although I liked it a lot, Röd was a pretty "cold" album. However, En Plats I Solen was sensational. I'm sure that we'll be treated to lots of great new songs in the future.

I just hope that the quality of the opening bands will improve on future tours...

[luckyguerin13]

I prefer their older stuff over most that they release today.

Granted, I didn't start to REALLY get into them until 2005 or 2006 but I still prefer the older albums.

Everything after DOJD isn't really high on my list. Especially Tillbaka Till Samtiden. I do not like that album at all. Columbus is maybe the only song I can even listen to.

I liked Röd sooo much better than TTS. Still not a favorite album though. I really expected Röd to be another TTS and that I wouldn't like it and even though they have changed their sound a great deal, I actually dig that album. It's different, for sure.

And I have only listened to En Plats i Solen ONE TIME... so I have no opinion of that album. I should listen to it some more.

Seems like their bsides and demos are the best songs they have written. Bsidor will always be my favorite album to listen to. But HH (English) and the self title album are in a tight race for my most favorite.

[stjärnor]

You should give En plats i solen a chance- it's good! It took me a while to get into it, especially coming straight from Röd, which is more uptempo. Everytime I hear Ensam lång väg hem, I'm transported back to Stockholm.

And I might hit a raw nerve here with some people. I cannot like the first album. I've tried, honestly I have, but I think it's just too 'raw' sounding. I really prefer Jocke's voice as it's aged, I can hear it's a different singing style from Isola to Hagnesta hill, less gravelly, if that's one way to describe it. Am I the only person to notice this?

I love how everyone has different favourite kent era/albums, it keeps it interesting!

[luckyguerin13]

I should, but I haven't had the time to sit down and listen to anything. I don't have a CD player in my car (I know. ) so I can't do it then either.

I loveeee the first CD. It always puts me in a good mood.

[bantha]

You should give En plats i solen a chance- it's good! It took me a while to get into it, especially coming straight from Röd, which is more uptempo. Everytime I hear Ensam lång väg hem, I'm transported back to Stockholm.

And I might hit a raw nerve here with some people. I cannot like the first album. I've tried, honestly I have, but I think it's just too 'raw' sounding. I really prefer Jocke's voice as it's aged, I can hear it's a different singing style from Isola to Hagnesta hill, less gravelly, if that's one way to describe it. Am I the only person to notice this?

I love how everyone has different favourite kent era/albums, it keeps it interesting!

I totally agree. but i loved EPIS from the word go, probably cause it was so unexpected and so incredibly good

[luckyguerin13]

I better give it another go then. I guess I will put it on my mp3 player soon.

I need something new to listen to anyway. Been loving Adele and Civil Twilight lately.

[.namnlös]

My personal favourite album is D&JD, because not only do I love all the songs, but also all the B-sides and bonuses. It pulls together all the best elements of Kent for me and is really quite special. If any other album comes close, it is definitely Röd. I think with all the other albums I will typically love 50% of it, like 20/30% and not be so keen on maybe 20-30%.

I'd say that there is rarely a Kent album I don't like, however as always I have my preferences. There's a few things I love about how this band has evolved... Many "rock" bands (and I think it's a stretch to call them that tbh) try much to hard to retain their formative years and possibly agressive sound. This always leads to some fans being disappointed when they change things up to a slower softer sound. Obviously Kent have always had this slow side to them, which looking back is a really good thing. It can be quite embarrassing to see 45 year olds trying to be something thy haven't been in a long time. They also found a signature sound quite early on, although there are songs on the S/T that I like, it does seem like something of a different band. Since then though they have altered and refined this signature sound on each album (although less noticeable between Verkligen-Vapen.)

The obvious changes in Kent's sound come in the shape of less reliance on muscular rock, and experimentation with synths. You can hear the ideas of a rock band playing dance music littered around in the build up to Tillbake too. But the one thing that makes them stand out, is the hooks littered everywhere. They come in all kinds of shapes and sizes too. So from early guitar riffs like 10 Minuter and Revolt, you then have synth stuff such as Berlin and Gamla Ullevi. Then there's the stuff like Dom Andra, Max 500 and På Drift. When they mix the two for example on Svarta Linjer, it is literally irresistible.