Superman was Swedish. In that country, "Kent" is the equivalent of the American "Smith." Ironic that an unusual band would choose that as a moniker. But then again, they're not that unusual in the UK, where most good music comes from.

Kent formed in 1992 in the small industrial town of Eskilstuna, Sweden, 125 miles from Stockholm. A group of high school friends couldn't find any bands worth listening to, so they decided to create their own. They'd released three albums before signing with BMG Sweden / RCA, while opening for the Cardigans. Kent's first few albums were all in Swedish: Kent, Verkligen and Isola. The band had a hard going with their debut, but Verkligen featured the single "Kram (Sa Nara Far Ingen Ga)" that became a Swedish hit. Verkligen also began the melancholic melodic sound that Kent has refined. Their third RCA album, Isola, was released in 1997. Kent toured for a string of sold-out dates in Sweden, culminating in a main stage performance at Hultsfredsfesivalen, Sweden's biggest rock festival. Isola won a few Swedish Grammy awards, including one for best video. The single "Om Du Var Har" came out late 1997 and was a huge success in Sweden, sending Isola straight to number one on the Swedish charts, and prompting RCA to ask Kent to record an English version of the record. This one held its own on the UK charts, but barely made a splash here in the United States with the song "If You Were Here." (The English Isola was never supposed to be released in Sweden, but popular demand made it so.) Hagnesta Hill, Kent's latest, has been available overseas for a few months and should be out in the United States before the end of 2000.

Joakim Berg, Martin Skold, Sami Sirvio, Harri Manty and Markus Mustonen have all commented on the difficulty of writing songs in English. Being a second language, it's difficult to not run into cliches. Kent's songs are influenced by Bowie, Joy Division, the Pixies, Stone Roses and the like: all those moody, dark songs with lush guitars revolving around stark subjects.