Normal Swede fest transmissions resumed. It will, however, spill out into October, since I'm around sporadically at the mo'.
Next up, er, Kent, again. Impatience, you see, since this album takes aim and fires with almost perfect accuracy, blowing everything else in its genre out the window. The urge to share the wealth was greater than the pull of someone like ABBA.
This Swedish indie rock/pop quintet have been making music for the past 14 years, and releasing albums for 10. However, their 5 album repertoire (6, if you count 2000's "B-Sidor 95-00") has gradually seen them develop from a somewhat mediocre band, into a band capable of surpassing even some of the indie rock/pop greats. With 2000's "Hagnesta Hill", they were teetering on a precipice, but this one, "Vapen och Ammunition" [Guns and Ammunition] their latest album thus far, released in 2002, saw them topple off that precipice and take a swooping nosedive into the sublime. It's the bee's knees, the frog's boobs, it's fanbloodytastic. Now, I must tell you that the album is entirely in Swedish, but don't let that put you off, since you'd essentially be cutting off the air supply to your airbag to spite your volvo if you dismissed hearing this purely on that basis. I mean, if you can deal with Sigur Ros, or even Bjork's Icelandic moments, then the fact that you don't necessarily understand the lyrics is insignificant. Besides, Swedish is prettier than Icelandic. No, really.
"Vapen och Ammunition" (2002 BMG)
Produced by;
Kent, Martin Von Schmalensee (I wish that were my name, that's almost as good as Dutch Van Den Broeck!) and Zed.
Since Kent lead singer Joakim Berg (Joake, as we call him) sounds infinitely better when he sings in his native Swedish, the vocals throughout the entire album flow, they're natural. Bloody gorgeous. Not only are the vocals to die for, but the production and arrangement on the entire album is pristine. The opening song "Sundance Kid" is a prime example of the level of perfection Kent were trying to achieve with this album. A lament about the recklessness of youth, it provides bright and airy verses which sweep almost effortlessly into the catchy, yet melodic chorus. The instrumentation is inspired and the lead guitar riffs are amazing. It has a rockier feel, without being obvious.
Chorus;
Hör du mig, hör du mig, kan du höra mig?
Allt det här är for dig
[Do you hear me, do you hear me, can you hear me?
All this is for you]
Thanks, Joake.
"Pärlor" [Pearls] raises the bar slightly to something much more frenetic, mixing lines in the verses served alternately via megaphone effect, and the layered chorus is fantastic. Joake sings about the band's fame beyond the borders of Sweden, a little tongue in cheek; The radio is playing our song, Stockholm is deserted and the world is holding its breath. The award for best line goes to; Ge dom ett finger och värm min hand (I ett iskallt IKEA-land) [Give them the finger and warm my hand, in an ice cold IKEA-land]. See? Swedes can be sarcastic, too. Self mockery is our forte. But, the man has a point, Kent should be way more famous than they are.
"Dom Andra" [The Others] lyrically could almost be referring to the Nicole Kidman movie of the same name, with its references to the dead, and the complaint of tickets to Heaven being sold out when he got there, forcing him to wander around aimlessly. The pace on this one is neither fast nor slow, and its overall feel is very Smashing Pumpkins, but with some catchy whistling throughout.. and Swedish lyrics. Again, it's rocked out, but deceptively melodic. Kent lay down their faster paced song arms for the next one, the beautiful "Duett" [Duet], which is, funnily enough, a ballad type duet between Joake and Swedish R&B artist Titiyo (who sounds like Aimee Mann here). In fine rock ballad tradition, lyrically it comes across like a "Dear John", letter included. a real letter with a stamp!, he sings, which I suppose, is better than getting dumped by email. A ballad with an edge it is, but it ain't got nothing on the album's fifth track, "Hur Jag Fick Dig Att Älska Mig" [How I Made You Love Me]. Now this is a ballad, complete with hauntingly sweeping extended keyboards, and weeping guitars. A vocal that aches on every note, and even if you don't understand the lyrics, the vocal and instrumentation ooze a certain sadness, yet with hope. A song of self-loathing in a kind of "How could you love me? I'm a pathetic excuse for a human being, and everyone hates me, but you" way. How delightfully Scandinavian.
After the sorrow and sadness passes, we hit the absolutely superb "Kärleken Väntar" [Love Waits]. A song that I have been known to dance to on several occasions, both at home and in public (I wouldn't dwell on that image for too long, it's not pretty). It's unbelievably catchy, with a beat that'll have you shuffling rhythmically in your chair as you listen. Or maybe that's just me. As for singing along to the chorus, you won't be able to help yourself.. it's easy.. try it;
Visst kanns det som att kääääleeeeee-ken väntaaaarrrrr
Things are slowed down a little for "Socker" [Sugar], which is a nice little song that ambles along sweetly in one constant flowing rhythm, again throwing in some delicately melodic moments, before you hit the repetitive and harder chorus. I'd also like to point out that it has some of the funniest, yet surreal lyrics ever in a song. It could be accused of being slightly blasphemous, what with its talk of Jesus giving a speech about kicking his heroin habit and having a sex change, turning evian into wine and giving blow jobs (!). Of course, if you don't speak Swedish, you'll miss all the blasphemous fun, and you can pretend it's about a nice holiday to San Tropez (also mentioned in the song.. Yeah, Jesus went on holiday there)
Things get almost Euro-pop for the odd yet likeable "FF" [FF] (An "F"'s an "F", what can I say?). And Euro-pop is an apt way to describe it, since not only do you have the Swedish delights of kent, but you have the added bonus of guest backing singer, French artist Nancy Danino. She sings in French for her bit (even adding some breathy ahhhh's and ooh-la-la's.. I jest not). It's catchy, it's a dance song, but still with an indie edge (the guitars make it less cheesy than typical Euro-pop, think upbeat Blur) Nancy's spoken French bit is excellent, all eerie and suggestive. Now, my French isn't as good as my Swedish, but I think she's waffling about being saved from swimming in troubled waters, metaphorically speaking.
The album's penultimate track "Elite" [Elite] is another slow one, which opens with a blues guitar, then throws in some drums, a piano, and the obligatory indie guitar. Whilst Joake sings gorgeously through some lyrics about his family being full of heroes, long forgotten and hidden by the stars, but he will keep their spirit alive through his words etc etc, some excellent backing is provided by a gospel choir and some bloke with a really eerie, distant voice who occasionally says "aah" (the best way I can describe it). It's lovely, not least for its "åh ja" and "nej nej"'s [oh yeah, no no] in all the right places.
The tenth and final track on the album, is the beautiful, beautiful quiet acoustic ballad "Sverige" [Sweden]. Yes, it's a song about Sweden, whilst it mocks (in the sense of, how Sweden has been turned into some sort of joke to the outsider), it also celebrates all that is good about its people. Sort of "Welcome to our lovely traditional land" I'll end on some lyrics;
Sverige, Sverige älskade vän
en tiger som skäms...
Vi skälar för en Midsommer till
Färsk potatis och sill
Som om tiden stätt still
Välkommen, välkommen hit,
vem du än är, var du än är.
[Sweden, Sweden beloved friend
A tiger who is ashamed...
We drink to another midsommer
Fresh potatoes and herring
as if time has stood still
Welcome, welcome here
whoever you are, wherever you are]
"Allt vi gjort blev en sång för dig"
Every last note on this album is a pleasure to listen to, and each of the ten songs is different. Whilst this album remains distinctly indie, it also mixes in some pop and rock from different musical areas, to give it something more than the average run-of-the-mill indie album. This was pretty daring on Kent's part, given their last 4 albums, which all pretty much came from the same range of furniture at IKEA (oh come on, I'm allowed) even though their earlier work was from the cheaper range. But with "Vapen och Ammunition", Kent have moved upmarket, becoming furniture for a posh penthouse pad, rather than some office for some stationary company on an industrial estate.
It's happy, it's sad, it's sexy, it's funny. A mixture of ballads, Euro-beats, indie rock and pop, it never gets boring. Safe to say this album makes my heart all of a flutter, because it's perfect. Poetic and perfect. Even if you don't understand what the frill he's on about, you can literally feel the sentiment of each song through its vocal and musical delivery, and that's something I admire Kent for on this album. After 14 years slogging away to try and get it just right, Kent finally achieved what they initially set out to do, and make the perfect album. In all honesty, I can't recommend this album highly enough, but the sad reality is, it's one of the greatest albums in the world you'll probably never hear.
Skäl.
Tracks: Sundance Kid / Pärlor / Dom Andra / Duett / Hur Jag Fick Dig Att Älska Mig / Kärleken Väntar / Socker / FF / Elite / Sverige
Overall: 5 stars
Similar Artists: Radiohead / Keane / The Verve
Kent - "Isola"
Recommended:
