Kent have fast become my favourite band in the world! ISOLA (the English version) was my favourite CD of 1999. I saw Kent live at ULU in London, Jan 99, and was blown away. Melancholic, pleading, downbeat, lovelorn -the sound is very alternative (think The Cardigans at their darkest, less hard-edged maybe with shades of Depeche/U2/Oasis + replace Nina with the charismatic Joakim Berg -if you thought Bono was a Sex God, check out Joakim!). ISOLA was excellent but HAGNESTA HILL is a leap up! One great song after another ranging from fantastic, mid-tempo, guitar-led, modern rock anthems (like KUNGEN AR DOD + REVOLT III) to slower, darker, moody journeys (like KEVLARSJAL and the second half of the CD). My favourite track is the lead single in Sweden -MUSIK NON STOP -it's a brilliant, new, almost funkier side to the band. So it's all in Swedish -that makes absolutely no difference (well not to me anyway!). The music alone is blinding and Berg's vocals are soothing on the ear, fine to listen to in any language. You can wait for the English version but it'll be a while yet and in the meantime, you're missing out on a complete listening pleasure!

When reading reviews about Kent, they are often compared to groups like Radiohead and Muse. With all respect they are great but kent has, like alot of scandinavian bands created their own unique sound. Hagnesta Hill is a poetry floating over layers of guitars. Music non stop, as well as Heavenly junkie and just like money, is your typical first single and it works great main stream, but it's songs like revolution, rollercoasterkevlar soul and wistler song that goes straight to the heart. No one can say that kent is not a great band. Listen and love. It is a great follow up to their masterpiece "Isola"

This review assumes you've already own/listened to Isola, liked what you heard, and are wondering if it's worth paying the price to import Kent's newest album. I say yes, but let me warn you first:

Kent's Isola had a lot of indie riffs and chord structures that you won't find in Hangesta Hill's assimilated pop-style (let me clarify that when I say pop I'm not talking about NSYNC or Backstreet Boys...more like the Oasis).

One might be tempted to say that Kent sold-out for this album by going mainstream...but mainstream rarely sounds this good from song to song. If you take each song by itself, few stand out from the crowd and each would probably be considered "average radio music" on their own. Yet the fact that Kent filled an entire CD (13 tracks and over an hour of music) with these tunes without putting in "stinkers" or "fillers", makes this disc worth buying.

In short, this CD may not be cutting edge music, but Kent did an excellent job of taking the pop/indie formula and creating 13 quality tracks after the math was finished. If you liked Isola, you won't be disappointed with Hangesta Hill.

I bought this album without knowing any of their music, I just knew that 'Musik non stop' was a big hit all over Scandinavia. It has been one of by best buys, and I can't seem to get bored of it. This is just so good, that they deserve world-wide success. Track 7 sounds not unlike a Depeche Mode song, but the music is more comparable to Radiohead in my opinion. There are too many excellent songs to pick out my favourites. You won't be disappointed!

When I first heard about Kent I had heard that they sound like Radiohead during the Bends years. I think they can be compared to Radiohead but not using too many musical effects, just the rocking part. This particular album, I thought was a step up from that last one, Isola. I especially love that they have two versions of the album, Swedish or English! It reminds me of Japanese animation purists and how they complain about english dubs and how japanese with english subtitles are better! Now we get to see two kinds of Kent fans I guess....

I actually own both albums and enjoy listening to both. I really like that the Swedish album has an extra swedish track that is not in english on the english album. If you are a fan of Kent please pick this album up as well as Isola. If you are really feeling frisky pick up the imports. They are that good!