Kensington - The Band Of Variety
The newcomers from the Netherlands are tricky to categorize.(Requested by Janine)
"In 2008 Kensington release their EP Youth. This results in
their current record deal and many sold-out shows, sharing the stage
with the likes of Razorlight, My Chemical Romance, Bombay Bicycle Club
and The Wombats. The band also gets chosen as Serious Talent by 3FM, one
of Holland's biggest radio stations. In the summer of 2009 they spend
over 2 months in the UK to record their debut album.
On July 16th, 2010 debut album Borders is released on
Bladehammer Music/EMI. The album is produced by James Kenosha in Leeds
(UK), in the Analogue Rooms, the recording studio owned by Kaiser Chiefs
keyboard player Nick ‘Peanut’ Baines. Mastering is done by John Davis
(U2, Arctic Monkeys, Snow Patrol). Reviews of Borders are unanimously
positive, including a 9/10 rating by Up Magazine and a 4/5 star review
in Veronica Magazine, one of Holland's best read magazines. First single
Youth also receives very positive attention from national
radio and television: the song is in rotation on 3FM, the video on MTV
and TMF (Dutch MTV). Subsequently Youth enters the Single Top 100 and
various other charts.
After releasing their first music video mid-summer, Kensington head
out for a 17-show co-headlining tour throughout the fall of 2010.
Recently, their first headline tour was confirmed and will start in
February 2011. On November 5th, second single When It All Falls Down is
released, accompanied by a new video."
Biography from Kensingtonband.com/band
After I had listened to Kensington's Borders for the first time I felt very shattered. No song is the other one alike and the styles differ from flowery power pop (Youth) to sharp hardcore bassriffs (All That I Know). The variation contributes to an album that you never grow tired of even though their spellbinding recipe for making music is quite easy, to - Keep it simple -.
To comment on the overall experience of the album I must say that Kensington sound mostly like Razorlight, with their simplicity and close to flawless singing voice. A perfect sining voice however isn't neccersary good. A straight American accent can sometimes be boring compared to British accents.
Just to point out that even if the overall experience of Kensington is like Razorlight it just isn't close to it anyway because they 're so varied. If I am not mistaking I can hear some influences of metalcore/deathcore bands like Bring Me The Horizon and Bullet For My Valentine.
This relatively new band from the Netherlands is very interesting and innovative. Their variety will be a big advantage for them in todays undiversified mainstream music even though it takes some time to really dig into the album. Atleast I am not done listening yet.
The Backstage Riot List
Viktor Gustafsson