The best music on the face of the earth
Ness | Philadelphia, PA USA | 03/27/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"From the moment I heard kent, in swedish too!, I LOVED it!!! It is so beautiful. They have mad guitar skills, and Joakim Berg's voice is so mellifluous I melt into a puddle of tears and happiness. You have to try them out! English or Swedish, they are both great. Of course I prefer Swedish. Love, Ness"
Don't be scared!
Jason | Seattle, WA | 06/29/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Seriously, I didn't think I'd like this cd before I got it. I owned every single other release by Kent before buying this one, and I wish I hadn't waited so long!
Verkligen (their 2nd cd) was damn good, but I had expected their debut to be somewhat weak and unrefined. I was so wrong. Kents debut album is actually better than Verkligen (w/ the exception of 10 Minuter).
As with Verkligen, this album is very guitar driven and sounds WAY less produced compared to later releases (understandably of course). I'd be tempted to say that this is the hardest Kent cd out there.
Anyways, if you're a fan of Kent even in the slightest and you don't own this cd... your collection is SO incomplete. Go buy this cd right now!"
Remarkable indeed, especially for a debut album
Snorre Smari Mathiesen | Norway | 11/07/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"It is a bit hard for me to judge Kent's debut album from the perspective it probably should be viewed, as I belong to the vast majority of fans who discovered this band thanks to "Vapen & Ammunition" in 2002. That album, comparatively commercial though it may be, got me hooked on the beauty of their lyrics, their music, vocalist Berg's stunning voice, and how all these elements flowed within one another. Once I was through listening (which really isn't the right phrase to use, as I don't feel "through" with the album to this very day), I passionately (and perhaps, a bit greedily) turned my attention to their previous "Isola," "Hagnesta Hill" and eventually "Verkligen." Everything seemed to suit me with this band, and subsequent releases have not diminished that impression; Berg's touching and provocative poetry wrapped within sometimes energic and aggressive, other times hauntingly quiet, melodies never fail to move me. It fitted a sad young man and an angry young man and a dreamy young man.
My point with all this quabbeling is, as a fan I was either the lucky or the unfortunate one to be served six years of Kent-work during a period of about eight months; I was just six years old when this first album of theirs, "Kent," saw daylight in 1995, at a time when I did not yet seek comfort in selected music. I have not followed their progression from the beginning. As such, I am probably unable to put this album into any historical context, but I can tell that the album still holds up bloody well; although just not quite as well, for a later fan as I anyway, as their other efforts. It is a debut album and feels like one, as it provides a different, more indie-inspired tone. This is not a bad thing in itself, and it is by far one of the best albums released in Swedish up till that time, but if you belong to the "V&A"-generation or even later, it may come off as a slight surprise. The lyrics, the voice, the melodies, it is all marvelous and very much in structure; you can't go wrong with Berg exclaiming that "someone knows that they are stronger than others" and "nobody is going to believe you" (lamely translated into English). The style which presents these messages is just of another nature, a more primitive one it seems; above all, it lacks melancholy, something which was to soon turn into a vital part of Kent's musical register. I listen to it mostly as a sort of fresh breath from the other albums which I put in the player constantly, but boy do I wish I was there thirteen years ago and could witness the impact it obviously did back then."
