Kent

Kent

New York, July 27, 1998– It all happened when KROQ LA morning man Bean, one-half of the station’s popular team of Kevin & Bean, was on vacation in Iceland and heard a song on the radio. The record was “If You Were Here” and the band, Kent, was from Sweden, where they were the country’s most popular rock band over such competitors as the Cardigans and the Wannadies. When Bean returned to the States, he played it for PD Kevin Weatherly, KROQ added it and the rest is pop history. RCA Records has rush- released the single to radio and will put out the album from which it comes, Isola, on September 15. This band has plenty more great songs on this deep album, including “Lifesavers,” “Velvet,” “Things She Said” and the 7:47 wide-screen epic, “747.”

And while Isola marks Kent’s first U.S. album, the band has been around since 1992, releasing a total of three albums after being discovered by RCA/BMG Sweden opening for the Cardigans. Two of the albums, ’96’s Verkligen and Isola entered the Swedish charts at #1, going platinum in the process. The band also received Swedish Grammys as Best Pop Rock Group in ’96 and ’98. Isola, which marked the first time the band recorded in English as well as their native Swedish, earned a Best Album nod earlier this year as well.

The band’s popularity has already spread from Scandinavia to the European continent. British weekly Melody Maker called the band’s music “the kind of record end-of-year polls were invented for… It’s like a glass of freshly squeezed melancholy, served on crushed ice with a perfectly cut slice of melody floating on top.” UK Loaded magazine raved, “Kent are a big, bold brilliant rock band in the way that My Bloody Valentine and Radiohead would be if they swapped members for a week and went pop. It’s all Nordic angst, Viking passion and indestructible livers.” English trade zine Fono opined, “An international record business increasingly driven by one-offs is crying out for long-term acts. The example of Kent indicates that such acts may be more likely to come from Stockholm, Hamburg or Milan than more traditional hunting grounds.”

The five-piece group, vocalist/guitarist Joakim Berg, bassist/keyboardist Martin Skld, lead guitarist/keyboardist Sami Sirvi, guitarist/drum machine/percussionist Harri Mnty and drummer/grand piano, Rhodes and backing vocalist Markus Mustonen, comes from the tiny Swedish town of Eskilstuna and much of their music has been about escaping the relative isolation of their homeland and making a mark in the world. In Sweden, where their singles and albums routinely top the charts, they receive equal billing with the likes of Radiohead, whom they’re often compared to, Primal Scream and the Prodigy.

Kent are currently on tour through the summer, playing festivals throughout Norway, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands and Belgium. Their unique sound proves that great pop-rock is universal, and that the world is getting to be a lot smaller place. Just ask KROQ’s Bean, who had to go all the way to Iceland to bring back the latest cutting-edge import. Wonder if he had to declare it at customs…


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