I’m a cryer. Sometimes my feels get the best of me, and they come pouring out through my eyeballs. It’s not something I’m ashamed of. I like to take long walks through the woods with Kite blasting in my headphones, and I just sob. I’ve seen Kite perform live five or six times, and each time a different song gets me. There’s something cathartic about crying in a crowd of strangers.
Kite makes the sort of melancholic synthpop that I just devour. The Swedish duo, comprised of musicians Nicklas Stenemo and Christian Berg, debuted in 2008 and has since released a series of EPs and singles that form one of the best catalogs in modern synthpop. Miraculously, they’ve yet to release a full-length studio album.
If you haven’t caught onto Kite yet, now is the perfect time. On August 9, they’ll release VII, their first full-length collection of songs. I’ve taken this opportunity to compile my favorite Kite tracks. A few of these songs will appear on VII, but Kite’s previous releases are definitely worth exploring.
10. Jonny Boy (2010)
Kite’s first and still biggest hit feels more intimate than the grandiose scope of songs to come. Yet a night out getting over girls with Jonny Boy contains all of the elements that make Kite so grand. Captivating rhythms. The warm, rich sounds of analog synths. The emotional heft of heartache and the power of dance to prevail. Just listen to the opening notes of “Jonny Boy” and be immediately transported into the world of Kite.
9. The Rhythm (2013)
One of many things Kite does so well is construct songs with little care for traditional song structure. “The Rhythm” embraces a narrative style that skips a proper chorus, yet climaxes with a big powerful hook you can’t help but shout along: “Hey, are you listening?” With its thumping beat, this song is ripe for dark dancefloors.
8. Nocturne (2015)
Nicklas Stenemo wields one of the coolest voices on the planet. So sometimes Kite turns down the music to let his voice do its thing—rising and falling with deep emotional depth, and twisting and toppling through syllables like molten metal. Kite had crafted ballads before, but “Nocturne” elevates their sound with grandiose scope and majestic beauty.
7. Wishful Summer Night (2013)
It’s hard to make meaningful comparisons to Kite as no one else sounds like them, thanks mainly to Nicklas Stenemo’s enigmatic voice. “Wishful Summer Nights” makes the case that Kite’s closest comparison is fellow Swede Karin Dreijer, particularly their debut album as Fever Ray. Its dense, organic-sounding electronics and striking percussion produce a similar fog-shrouded mystery.
6. Hand Out the Drugs (2020)
In 2019, Kite embarked on a nostalgia trip that began in their childhood villages of Tranås and Stenslanda and took us through their teenage years. It concluded in lockdown. “Hand Out the Drugs” will be forever remembered as Kite’s Covid song, capturing our anxiety and longing for culture during that period. One of four songs they made with producer Blanck Mass, his swirling, buzzsaw electronics power this blissed-out track.
5. Panic Music (2022)
Fresh off their four-song run with producer Blanck Mass, Kite unleashed their angriest song yet. “Panic Music” is a buzzing thriller that merges the churning production techniques they learned from Blanck Mass with their own brand of warm, analog synths. This frenetic rush of anger and attitude finds singer Nicklas Stenemo blasting the “idiots in my life.”
4. True Colours (2015)
Kite hit their stride in the mid 2010’s with a pair of EPs, Kite V and Kite VI. Six of the songs on this list come from those two releases, including this captivating blend of brooding synths. “True Colours” is a lush banger layered with rich, organic sounds and a knob-twisting effect that propels the energy forward. Like many of Kite’s best songs, it’s about heartache, though “True Colours” wallows in despair with little hope for uplift.
3. Losing (2024)
On this year’s “Losing,” Kite gives a masterclass in epic songcraft. The track opens like a solemn funeral lament, then gradually builds dramatic tension with dynamic sounds and new voices courtesy of Anna von Hausswolff and Henric de la Cour. “Losing” showcases Kite’s unmatched ability to craft music that wrings emotion out of profound tension, cementing their place as the world’s best synthpop band.
2. Up for Life (2015)
There are few things I love more than an epic song you can get lost in. “Up for Life” is a sweeping nine-minute odyssey through melodrama and mystery. Nicklas Stenemo, accompanied by Swedish singer Nicole Sabouné, stabs you in the heart, yet somehow reassures you at the same time with some of the best lyrics I’ve ever heard: “And I begin to let some people in. I’m up for tears. Up for life. I’m up for heartache.” Drenched in dark, immersive reverb, “Up for Life” offers a powerful testament to the beauty of vulnerability.
1. Dance Again (2013)
Kite has been singing about the euphoric power of dancing since their very first song. “Ways to Dance,” the first track from their first EP, explores dance as a metaphor for love and life. So it’s only fitting that their best song celebrates a night out dancing as a way to reconnect with yourself and the world. Over pulsating analog synths, Nicklas Stenemo croons a triumphant chorus: “So tonight I’m gonna dance again. ‘Til the morning give it all I can. If there’s a chance for me and my heart, then I will give it all that I’ve got.” The lyrics to “Dance Again” pack an emotional wallop for anyone who’s left their comfort zone looking for love, only to be beaten down by heartache. I cry every time I hear it.
