Well Stick A Hole in My Kevlar Soul, It's the 100th Review
Written: Aug 18 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Swaggering indie rock with tons of arrogance... and beauty
Cons: A couple of bland ones.. I expect a lot from these people.
The Bottom Line: Music exploring the state of this nation, love!, oh, and "Blade Runner".
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| dpjohansen's Full Review: Hagnesta Hill - Kent Movies |
*I finally reached my 100th review, and it seems to have taken me forever. I was going to do something a bit special, but figured an ordinary review would suffice. Well, Kent are special, to me at least, so that counts, right?*
Recap: Kent are Swedish, they live in Stockholm, but are originally from Eskilstuna. They've been together for a very long time indeed, and have been recording artists for approximately 10 years. They make guitar driven, often melodic, indie rock, which sometimes borders on the Britpop sound of the late 90s. They've released six studio albums in total, the most recent being this year's "Du och Jag Döden". All of Kent's albums are available in Swedish, but in order to expand their horizons, they chose to record 2 of them in English, as well. I could murder a cup of coffee. The first would be 1998's "Isola", and the second would be this one, 2000's "Hagnesta Hill". Both versions of this album are practically identical, except for differences in lyrics (obviously) and each album has a couple of tracks exclusive to that version only (clever marketing ploy). The band themselves are all in their mid thirties (old farts), and the line up is as follows;
Joakim Berg (Singer, songwriter, fond of tattoos and novel trousers)
Martin Sköld (Bass, sometimes writes the music)
Sami Serviö (Lead guitar. Looks cool in glasses)
Markus Mustonen (Drums. On the Atkins diet, currently being described as "thin & nice")
Harri Mänty (Guitar. Always looks pensive)
"Hagnesta Hill" (2000 RCA)
Produced by;
Zed
Kent’s fourth album, again, proved that a change is as good as a rest, in terms of mixing styles album to album. Prior to the release of "DoJD" this year, this was easily my second favourite Kent album, it's possibly been nudged ever so slightly into third place. Yet there are times when it's an absolutely perfect partner for my given mood. Rather than review this album in track order, I've split the songs into categories. Because I felt like it.
Computerised Rejections / Accidents and Incidents
The lyrical whines and complaints of "Protection" seem to be mirrored in the song's music. This mid tempo song filled with lulls and thrashes isn't terrible, in fact, the rhythmic, swaying flow of the verses, particularly the vocals, is quite pleasing. My gripe is with the mindless din that comes with the chorus, its repetitive nature quickly catapults the song into meaningless background noise. A fusion of chaotic guitars, coupled with densely layered vocals, scrape like razorblades on two day old stubble. There's less of that clutter on "Rollercoaster", thankfully, but with this one, din has been usurped by monotony. "Rollercoaster" is a long, drawn out song that rolls along at one constant rhythm. There's no change of pace to speak of, and very little that enamours me with the lyrics and vocals for much of the song. An introduction of a harder beat about a third of the way in gives the song a little bit of substance, as does Joakim's sudden onset of a slightly louder, harder vocal. Like someone stuck a plate of cakes in front of him and his eyes suddenly light up at the thought of the cream-filled goodness. It's a whimsical song, but bland, rather than endearing. The cakes were obviously low fat crap.
I Press Rewind, Take it Frame by Frame Again
"Heavenly Junkies" and "Stay With Me" are two entirely different songs, musically, but don't really belong in any of the other categories. However, they are both interesting enough to retain my attention on an album repeat play. "Stay With Me" sways and flickers like an elastic band being intermittently slightly stretched. It has a certain musical cadence that would be summed up as "Boing!", in a one word summary. The raucous chorus begs and pleads convincingly; "Stay with me staaaaaaaaaaaay, I'll do whatever you saaaaaaaaaaaay!". Anything at all? Let me make a list.... Berg's obsession with a certain Ridley Scott film rears its head again on "Heavenly Junkies". An obsession first sampled on Isola's "OWC" (Off World Colonies). The film in question would be "Blade Runner (the Director's Cut)". "I saw a film, future visions of now", he sings, before being mildly interrupted by a synthesiser which closely resembles parts of the Vangelis' "Blade Runner" score. He explores the various aspects of the film in his lyrics, whilst the music drapes him with layers of upbeat and catchy, dramatic guitars. (Not forgetting the synths). I love how the style switches from evenly paced, to a full on throttle at the chorus, as he sings;
Judging by the way you walk,
And I get a feeling it wasn't that easy,
keeping a pace like that.
Forever you fool me, you're a Heavenly Junkie
We're living the dreams you had
Something They Can't Capture in the Sweetest Movie Scene
"Hagnesta Hill" is not without its fair share of soft and syrupy-sweet ballads. 5. Count. 5.
A-hem. Kevlar; a lightweight, yet durable and multi-resistant material. "Kevlar Soul"; a lightweight, yet durable and multi-layered song. "Kevlar Soul" is perhaps the more rock-anthem of the ballads. It's slow, but the instrumentation is much more dense, sending it Earthwards through gravity's pull, rather than allowing itself to float about like a fluffy cloud in the atmosphere. "Whistle Song", however, would have you believe it was one of those clouds. I find the opening quite pretty, the music is interestingly manipulated to sound more intricate than it actually is. The inclusion of plaintive sounding brass adds to its late night, autumnal feel. Just as I begin to indulge myself with Berg's quiet voice and sad lyrics, I'm rudely interrupted by 3 and half minutes at the end, by a seemingly never-ending drone of music, with the repeated line; "And I'll make you a believer, coz you're not a receiver". Why? WHY? Yeah, that outro breathes invincible, and it's giving me the creeps.
"Cowboys" and "Quiet Heart" belong together like strawberries & cream, and they're both just as sweet and delicious. Lyrically, they're like two halves of a conversation. The laments of a lonely man in one song, the reassuring response to that sadness in the other. "Cowboys" is wonderfully dreamy, and it utilises various abstract synthesised telephone like sounds, coupled with a quiet, melodic guitar. "And my quiet heart goes to pieces", sings Berg. Aye, my quiet heart goes to pieces every time I hear that song! I hate him for that. There just aren't enough tissues in the world to absorb my tears. The strummy acousticesque (incorporating the odd orchestral sweep) "Quiet Heart" (there's that 'quiet heart' again) provides the positive response. Ballad? Yes. But this one is more whimsical, and this time, very endearing. "It's your quiet heart and your silence, as your teardrops stain my sheets". Sorry. I ran out of tissues. See above. The remaining ballad is "Stop Me June (Little Ego)". That title has always been a head scratcher, and all I can come up with is that June is the name of his inner Self. But then, I have a mid life crisis named Boris, so it's all good. As for the song.. Mirror, mirror on the wall...'June' is undoubtedly the fairest of them all. It packs a little more drum punch than the previous two, yet it's still relatively slow, with more of that plaintive brass floating about. It's like the last song of the night at a jazz and blues club, the smoky atmosphere affecting Berg's vocals, making him tired and weary.. "Get rid of this crowd, I can't breath here anymore". He appears to get more desperate and annoyed towards the end, with the guitars echoing his pleas. Perhaps it's because he remembers he left his scarf at the bus stop. Who knows? But I like it.
So Why Don't You Dance to the Music
Catering for the quicker side of the Kent rock coin we have "Revolt III", or (as I like to call it) "Oy, Muse! stick this in your rock anthem pipe and smoke it!". Whilst this song might be in a similar style to songs such as Muse's "Plug in Baby", it kicks more ärse than a startled mule at a prowling fox in a chicken coop. It's fast, it's loud, it starts with the line; "Peel my skin off baby". You really can't ask for more. As well as the rock, there are a few songs on here that induce unintentional hip swaying and chair dancing. There's something remarkably camp and cheesy about "Just Like Money", it's like 70s moustache rock meets modern dance rock. I blame the "good Swedish 70s porn" style guitar. Nevertheless, it's a likeable song that's catchy enough to have you subliminally wishing you were wearing flares. I also have a great affection for the way Berg delivers the song. I can almost imagine him singing with a twinkle in his eye and a half smile. For "The King is Dead" I'm reminded of Suede in places, and not only for its slightly ambiguous lyrics. I absolutely adore the sarcastic arrogance this song is drenched in;
"My IQ allows me to brush you aside,
you are zeros and ones,
you're wrong, where I'm... right.
Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Now the tyrant is dead, and his lady is free,
I am going ahead with the reinvention of me.
Now the King lies here dead..
Oh, that wicked glint in his eye, that you can practically see as he struts his way through the song. The music is sexy and swaggering, almost dancing and laughing with glee, as it hovers over the metaphorical corpse of the seemingly oppressive King.
Finally, I'd like to introduce you to "Music Non Stop". As Baccara once said, "Yes Sir, I can boogie, but I need a certain song". This is my certain song. It was a massive, massive (HUGE) hit, which is understandable, since it positively reeks of Euro-rock-pop campness that would appeal to the Scandi masses. It starts out quiet, but funky, before the onset of some rather breathy and high pitched, yet whispery "haaaaah-ahhhhh"s as the music kicks in. It's as flamboyant as Joakim's novel trousers, as musically capable as any disco song, yet it's rock!
You will come to your senses, or inhale and choke
Kent have got some bloody nerve, making me dance like loon, whilst simultaneously blubbing my eyes out, looking around for tissues, whilst scratching my head and laughing at regal corpses. Tsk. That aside, no two Kent albums are the same, which is something I love about the band. Their diversity with each album is as welcome as it is pleasing, and this one has more than its fair share of an indie-dance-rock bent. Overall, the only "Ooh, it's a bit iffy!" moments come with the tracks "Rollercaoster" and "Perfection", which are take or leave affairs that lend themselves to boring and bland, rather than bloody awful. Whilst aspects of one or two songs, like "Whistle Song", for example, unesessarily incorporate nonsensical extra elements. Namely, the long, droning outro. (WHY?)
For the most part, the album is focused around that Britpop appeal, fuelled by dense, thick, dance infused rock guitars, with the majority of the songs made hazy with fuzziness and static. Songs of different states of consciousness are equally distributed throughout the album, mixing sweet, soft and slow music, with plenty of swaggering, arrogant, fun upbeat sounds. It's also worth mentioning that there was a bonus track entitled "A Timekill to Die For" included on a strictly limited edition version of this album (5000 copies.. so it's hard to come by). The song is perhaps one of Kent's most melancholy piano ballads to date. The song is in English, but fans were treated to a Swedish version on "Hagnesta Hill" (Swedish), where it was included as part of the general release. Jolly nice of them. But anyway, If you like you some Muse, The Verve, or "Coming Up" era Suede, you might enjoy Kent's Hagnesta Hill
Berg says; "It took me 29 years to reach perfection" on this album (only took me 28. Ha! ..How's that for arrogance?) I wouldn't quite say it's perfection, that didn't happen until 2 years later with "Vapen och Ammunition", but it has a damn good stab at it. Kent often brood and sulk with their music, but this album enjoys itself so much more. Temporarily setting aside the trademark Kent air of gloom, in exchange for quiet hearts, tears, arrogant egos, swaggering and camp invitations to dance, skin peeling and dead Kings. And that's just the music. The lyrics are even better!
Cheers.
Overall: 4.25 stars
Tracks: The King is Dead / Revolt III / Music Non Stop / Kevlar Soul / Stop Me June (Little Ego) / Heavenly Junkies / Stay With Me / Quiet Heart / Just Like Money / Rollercoaster / Protection / Cowboys / Whistle Song
Great Music to Play While: Thinking it really is the soundtrack for The End
All lyrics quoted copyright Joakim Berg
Note; The songs "Quiet Heart" and "Just Like Money" are exclusive to the "Hagnesta Hill" English version
Recommended:
Yes
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dpjohansen
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Member: David Johansen
Location: Sverige
Reviews written: 100
Trusted by: 168 members
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One day I shall return...
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