Kent Kent Kent

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just getting into Kent, should I buy their Sweden album or English album first? which is better?

― Pule, Friday, 26 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Their new album (Vapen Och Ammunition) is only in Swedish at present, so if you don't live in Europe, it might be expensive to import. But it's definitely worth it. "Hur Jag Fick Dig Att Älska Mig" and "Socker" are amazing songs. Annoyingly, it only has 10 tracks on it. It'll probably come out in English later in the year or early next year. The language is definitely not a barrier.

Having said this, you're probably better getting Hagnesta Hill first. It's an excellent album, of a very generous length (13 songs, all excellent). The Swedish and English versions have quite different tracklistings - each has 2 songs unique to that version. I personally prefer the English version because "Quiet Heart" is so lovely and the Swedish-only tracks can be found in English versions, but some tracks are noticeably better in Swedish. The ideal version would be a mix-and-match between the two.

Isola, the only other album in English, is quite good, but has one or two dull songs on it, and probably too many slow songs. I'd search "747", "Things She Said" and "Unprofessional". The English version has an extra track, which makes it better than the Swedish one.

― EdwardO, Friday, 26 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

one year passes...

It's probably just me, but 747 is one of the saddest songs in the history of the universe, when sung in English.

Geir, where are you?

― Schwingung (Damian), Friday, 21 November 2003 09:33 (twenty-two years ago)

747 is a stunner... for some reason I prefer the original version in swedish, even though i have absolutely no idea what they're singing about... makes it tough to sing along to in the car though.

― steve, Friday, 21 November 2003 10:04 (twenty-two years ago)

I think it really might actually be about a plane when it's in Swedish.

― Schwingung (Damian), Friday, 21 November 2003 10:10 (twenty-two years ago)

But I can only remember the 'gummi, glas en metal' part, to be fair, and I can only recognise Swedish words by German ones that look like them.

― Schwingung (Damian), Friday, 21 November 2003 10:14 (twenty-two years ago)

a danish friend explained it to me as being about someone looking out the window of a plane as they leave their lover behind at the airport, seeing them through the airplane window or something along those lines...

― steve, Friday, 21 November 2003 10:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, that would make sense. Weird thing is I had a girlfriend who was/is obsessed with Kent, but she lived in a different country (Australia, in fact) and I never knew the song was about that until now.

― Schwingung (Damian), Friday, 21 November 2003 10:27 (twenty-two years ago)

i'm an australian myself... i'd have never heard the song at all if it weren't for the aforementioned danish friend of mine...

― steve, Friday, 21 November 2003 10:28 (twenty-two years ago)

Shit, eh. Thought they had zero fanbase outside Europe let alone two other confirmed sightings in Aus.

Vapen och Ammunition, contrary to my post above, never got released in English. More's the pity.

― edward o (edwardo), Friday, 21 November 2003 10:31 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, I thought after Hagnesta Hill they'd said they wouldn't do the next one in English.

Isn't 747 great though? One of those songs that should only ever be found on the end of a mixtape.

― Schwingung (Damian), Friday, 21 November 2003 10:36 (twenty-two years ago)

brilliant song... love it to bits. i've heard a bunch of their other stuff, and it's not bad, but nothing comes close.

― steve, Friday, 21 November 2003 10:40 (twenty-two years ago)

It is great, and am no longer sure which version I prefer, English or Swedish. The video version with the extra lyrics that go "we ran out of time" doesn't do anything for me, though. And the (English) video fits much better with the Swedish lyrics.

― edward o (edwardo), Friday, 21 November 2003 10:41 (twenty-two years ago)

Do you like Myslovitz? They are to Poland as Kent are to Sweden.

― Schwingung (Damian), Friday, 21 November 2003 11:05 (twenty-two years ago)

IMO, Kent sound annoying in English, the singer's pronounciation isn't what it should be, and I prefer them in Swedish.

But if you don't understand the Swedish language, I would recommend you to go for the English version, I guess.

Anyway, "Våpen & Ammunition" is really worth digesting, possibly their best album.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Friday, 21 November 2003 11:12 (twenty-two years ago)

Geir, can you understand the lyrics in Swedish exactly? I'm just curious as to how close Swedish and Norwegian are.

― Schwingung (Damian), Friday, 21 November 2003 11:21 (twenty-two years ago)

Do you like Myslovitz? They are to Poland as Kent are to Sweden.

No, but do recommend me a starting point. S/D?

― edward o (edwardo), Friday, 21 November 2003 11:28 (twenty-two years ago)

I think there's an album called Korova Milky Bar, or Korova Bar Mleczny. That's the only one I've heard in its entirety. A friend of mine brought it back from Poland and he was talking about how it sounded like Radiohead, but I knew Kent, so I knew better. So yes, try find something off this album.

― Schwingung (Damian), Friday, 21 November 2003 11:32 (twenty-two years ago)

Cheers. Looks like this is a bilingual deal. English or Polish? I'm of Polish extraction, don't speak a word, but don't mind how it sounds sung, so which should I try?

― edward o (edwardo), Friday, 21 November 2003 11:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Hmmm... I'd go with the Polish. My friend told me the English lyrics were kind of crap - at least if you listen to it in Polish it won't make any difference.

― Schwingung (Damian), Friday, 21 November 2003 11:46 (twenty-two years ago)

this thread just inspired me to dig out isola for the first time in ages... 747, what a glorious song...

― steve, Friday, 21 November 2003 11:58 (twenty-two years ago)

Oooh this sounds really nice, Schwingung. The sort of thing you'd never hear on the radio outside of Europe, I imagine or often discussed on an English forum.

― edward o (edwardo), Friday, 21 November 2003 12:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Apparently they're trying to break into the English-speaking market.

I sent a copy of the album to my aforementioned Kent-loving ex-girlfriend, who was in Sydney at the time, and she concurred that Myslovitz were fab. I borrowed it from my Polish friend (yeah, naughty) - I guess if I knew where to get it, I'd fork out the zloty. It's an interesting spin on the Europop thread, for sure.

― Schwingung (Damian), Friday, 21 November 2003 12:06 (twenty-two years ago)

Geir, can you understand the lyrics in Swedish exactly? I'm just curious as to how close Swedish and Norwegian are.

The languages are very close. It may be that I have problem understanding the occasional rare word, but that would be the case with some Norwegian accents too.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Friday, 21 November 2003 13:58 (twenty-two years ago)

Btw. Danes Saybia are Denmark's answer to Kent, and they have sort of solved the problem by singing in English from Day One.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Friday, 21 November 2003 13:59 (twenty-two years ago)

See, a lot of the weird word choices involved in either songwriting in a non-native tongue or translating can often be quite delightful. In Kent's case, some of them are actually improvements as far as the line scanning go.

― edward o (edwardo), Friday, 21 November 2003 14:05 (twenty-two years ago)

This is an interesting thread... mentions so far for Myslovitz, who are to Poland as Kent are to Sweden, and now I read of Danes Saybia who are Denmark's answer to Kent. Are there any Norwegian counterparts also?

― steve, Friday, 21 November 2003 15:04 (twenty-two years ago)

Somebody have compared Madrugada to the bunch, but I don't quite see the similarities, melancholy singer/songwriter Thomas Dybdahl probably comes closer as far as mood goes.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Friday, 21 November 2003 15:33 (twenty-two years ago)

Wow, this was a random thread revival. I did like the Swedish language album I heard.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 21 November 2003 16:04 (twenty-two years ago)

There wasn't anywhere near enough Kent love on here, and I nearly cried when my post killed the thread a year and a half ago. (Note: enormous exaggeration.).

― edward o (edwardo), Friday, 21 November 2003 16:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Weird word choices - I guess the definition of that where Kent are concerned is rhyming 'adrenaline' with 'time' on that song "Bianca", which I thought was their best song that wasn't "747". They were never shy about showing off their influences either, in fact they were almost embarrassingly open fanboys (calling a song "Music Non Stop" for chrissake).

― Schwingung (Damian), Saturday, 22 November 2003 08:47 (twenty-two years ago)

The last album wears its New Order, or at least New Order via Smashing Pumpkins influence on its sleeve, which is a wonderful thing too. They namecheck Bowie in a couple of songs too. Music Non Stop is one of those songs that works equally as well in both languages - absolutely nothing is lost in the translation on that one.

― edward o (edwardo), Saturday, 22 November 2003 09:13 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh yeah, I neglected to mention that About Golden Years song.

― Schwingung (Damian), Saturday, 22 November 2003 09:31 (twenty-two years ago)

Edward O - you're in Sydney, right? Are you going to see Radiohead in April?

― Schwingung (Damian), Saturday, 22 November 2003 23:31 (twenty-two years ago)

Nope. I'm in Woodford, north of Brisbane. Obviously I will be going to see Radiohead at one of their concerts, but who knows where I'll be in April.

― edward o (edwardo), Sunday, 23 November 2003 06:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Hmm, I dunno why I assumed you were in Sydney. I'm crossing the Tasman for two Radiohead shows.

― Schwingung (Damian), Sunday, 23 November 2003 10:10 (twenty-two years ago)

Kent's "Bianca" - very nice indeed. Thanks for the tip.

― steve, Sunday, 23 November 2003 12:29 (twenty-two years ago)

Other good Isola-era songs: Point Blank, The One To Blame (both B-sides, bafflingly), If You Were Here, Before It All Ends. Glider is a bit crap, though.

― edward o (edwardo), Sunday, 23 November 2003 12:41 (twenty-two years ago)

"If you were here" is great... I have the Swedish version of that also - Om du var här. Love the Swedish version.

― steve, Sunday, 23 November 2003 12:55 (twenty-two years ago)

Geir, don't mention the S-word in here!!!!!!!

― Jay Kid (Jay K), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 15:17 (twenty-two years ago)

I have to say I don't really get this. I got "Vapen Och Ammunition" which sounded pretty bland to me, Travis for the New Order generation

― Baaderist (Fabfunk), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 15:33 (twenty-two years ago)

three years pass...

'bianca' is great. probably my favourite track of theirs - great bassline, catchy, and a sort of haunting, nostalgic feel to it. isola is a pretty solid record

never was able to truly embrace hagnesta hill. the lyrics are generally very good, however, and 'heavenly junkies' is a track i pretty consistently return to.

― Charlie Howard, Monday, 11 June 2007 15:01 (nineteen years ago)

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