So we’re gonna have a normal review for a change. I have a bunch of epic shit coming up soon but for now, a review of a weird indie band no one has ever heard of.
Let us start with a discussion of band names. I like to think there is more to a band than a good name, and certainly it is easy enough to come up with good names that I have spent hours with my annoying hipster friends coming up with funny band names. Others put less effort into this, and view eleaborate or catchy names with disdain, a distraction from the real focus of a band. I tend to agree that the music is most important, and stories of bands that spend years trying to settle on a name are kind of bemusing in that regard. Similarly, bands that name themselves specifically in order to show up somewhere advantageous on a cd rack are kind of pathetic and obviously anachronistic.
On the other hand, modern bands really should try to find names that are Google unique, and it kind of annoys me that a ridiculous number of indie bands don’t do this. These days you have to know that the main way people are going to get into you is by finding out about you via internet searches. Picking a really generic word as a name is just going to undermine your ability to get fans. Which may be the point, and that just annoys me more.
Today’s band has a bad case of Google anonymity. The dude called his band About. What’s with that. Freaking hipster. About is also a Dutch/ German band that sings in English. What’s with that? That’s a thing I guess, a bunch of bands I have reviewed since starting this project fall into this category. Maybe some German hipster unloaded his cd collection at PREX. I dunno. I also don’t know much about the band because of their horrible Google anonymity. I guess this is mostly a one man act, I think his name is Rutger Hoedemaekers. It looks from his website like this was maybe a one off project? He has release a bunch of stuff under a different name, which is where the band’s website redirects a searcher. Alas.
So I really don’t know shit about this guy, but his music is kind of…really fucking awesome. Fuck guys, this shit is why I am doing this project. He does these really sweet, energetic, pop songs full of hooks and fun, and then filters them through some of the most tweaky, ADD friendly engineering and mixing. He will do things like rhythmically increase the tempo, then snap it back, repeatedly, creating this new, weird, phantom tempo. It’s so tweaky. The best comparison I can come up with is T. Raumschmiere, but there is a really good chance that you silly Americans haven’t heard of The King of Gnarz. I dunno if About is a fan of T. Raumschmiere, but he is probably aware of it. Nonetheless About is a lot more energetic and happy. The weird electronic effects are strong, but not overpowering; but one instrument in a frantic pop ensemble. Maybe think of a dubstep remix of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, but not annoying at all.
That’s kind of the amazing thing. Describing it - hell, even listening to it - you think it’d piss you off or give you a headache or something, but it is somehow internally coherent and just so fucking happy that you can’t help loving it. I haven’t been so excited about a CD in months. This is that perfect combination of hilarious and awesome, and he isn’t telling any jokes. It’s like musical slapstick. If you find this album, buy it. I don’t care if you have to suck cock in the back to afford it, trust me, it’s worth it. The downside is you may not be able to find this except through the record label, but the album rules. Find it. Buy it. Ruin it and buy it again. If you find anything by Bart Constant, that’s his new band. They are also pretty awesome though less energetic. But still ruinously good.
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