Spencer Kent’s debut solo album The Optimist is scheduled to be released on September 1, 2009. Boasting ten tracks overflowing with passion, a masterful sense of wordplay, and haunting melodies, the album is sure to impress anyone who enjoys their music with minimal bells and whistles. Spencer has spent the past few months recording the album in the San Fernando Valley, and is working tirelessly to complete the record.
Refusing to be pigeonholed into one specific genre of influence or interest, Spencer lists among his inspirations Radiohead, Thrice, Elliott Smith, Bright Eyes and The Mars Volta, although his appreciation for all types of music runs exceptionally deep. The record contains some songs written years ago as well as some penned within the past year. They vary in style and structure yet manage to sound both gritty and polished, a testament to their meticulous crafting. Spencer spent five years fronting a metal band called The Ten Bells, and when that band’s activity started to decline, he used the downtime to focus his attention on his next project. What has resulted was The Optimist: ten songs that shoot straight from the heart, reflecting upon the types of experiences Spencer has endured throughout his life. As a result, The Optimist is a deeply personal and introspective album, concerning themes to which we can all relate as human beings on an intimate level.
Onstage, Spencer has an engaging presence, delivering his songs with precision and a sense of urgency that routinely captivates the audience. His songs have even brought some audience members to tears on a few occasions, due to their powerful ability to resonate with whoever hears them. He is currently in the planning stages of a US tour in the late summer and early fall in order to branch out of the creatively suffocating area of Los Angeles and reach a broader, more personal audience than what is usually found in the city’s smoky and hazy nightclub scene.
