Kent
Röd

After the flashes, the storm. The electronic shift was announced two years prior with "Tillbaka Till Samtiden" and now Kent deliver what is the pinnacle of the evolution previously embarked upon; the butterfly opens its wings and showcases all its colors, leaving behind the shell that created it, now belonging to the past. The colors are red, black, and gray, the wings are fragrant, the appearance enchanting: Kent releases a record during a night of celebration at the Bowery Hotel in New York on a cold Saturday in early November 2009 that achieves perfection in its field: "Röd," red, mature, studied, refined, achieved. Through the 11 songs that compose this electro-rock work, an air of excellence flows, and it soon becomes apparent that every note seems to have been handled with care to be placed in its proper place.

The pseudo-gregorian intro "18:29-4" soon gives way to "Taxmannen", where the massive dose of technology immediately gives the impression of not being used in vain but to achieve a result of maximum impact. Already listening to this assertive start or the subsequent, seductive, "Krossa Allt", one perceives the fine work done in the arrangement phase, where nothing seems left to chance. Joakim Berg dominates, overpowering everything with his powerful voice, wrapping you in his Swedish embrace. Moving on with the pulsating "Hjärta" and "Sjukhus", the dark and fascinating number 5 with its more hallucinatory lyrics than ever, it becomes clear that the search for sound increasingly drives Kent to not only make music but to make music splendidly. The electronics, though well-presented, are momentarily put on the backburner in this central part, where strings, orchestral arrangements, and guitars make a return: all contribute to creating in each piece a different atmosphere, now reflective, now gloomy, always unique and impeccably crafted. The following "Vals För Satan (Din Vän Pessimisten)" represents the album's zenith, where both the vocal evolution of Joakim Berg and the melodic background, and what a background, reach the peak of expressiveness, creating a magnetic force that turns into hypnosis, becomes a whore, becomes demonic seduction. If Berg is Satan, the one in the title, I now lend him my soul as everything explodes. Further on, "Idioter" is appreciated in its slightly more radio-friendly and simple guise while maintaining a high rhythm, Markus Mustonen's drums give the piece a dragging pace before everything relaxes with "Svarta linjer", which may be the weakest link in the chain but at this point fits perfectly, a bit like the mint that freshens your breath, cleansing your mouth of the smoke flavor while nicotine is still in circulation.

Kent's songs have lost the immediacy of indie times while remaining impactful; no repeated listens are necessary to make them your own and possess their essence, yet nothing appears banal, and everything seems to deviate from canonical musical schemes in favor of an increasingly meticulous search for new atmospheres. "Ensamheten" revisits a theme already addressed several times by the Swedish band, namely solitude, lack, and does so this time with a new coating, reconnecting to the more electronic early tracks and leaving the subsequent "Töntarna", the first single extracted from the album, with the task of bringing this aspect to the highest level in a catchy yet far from light piece. The conclusion, finally, is the best one could wish for after all this: "Det Finns Inga Ord" references Sweden again, its cold, its relationships, the great and obligatory love that the band has for their homeland, and it does so in an epic, sublime, triumphant manner. There are no words, just as the title of this last track states, which leaves the listener with that sense of satisfaction that makes you want to press the button to go back to the start of the record, a record refined in every single part, polished and prepared to be perfect and to be the best in the discography. Then, depending on tastes, one may always and still prefer the old Kent, but this work is objectively dazzling. Well done, really.