Kill Your Darlings. GUNMOLL

In April it is two years ago Amsterdam's GUNMOLL could be found on WoNoBlog for the first time. A year ago the EP 'Welcome To The GUNMOLL Family' was and here is the debut album. And what an album it is. GUNMOLL goes full out and does not fail to show to the world what it is good at, playing extremely exciting music, including music allowing for major party time.

GUNMOLL is Jolien Grünberg (voice, guitar) and Bram Bol (guitar, producer) with Koen van Bemmelen (bass) and Bas Janssen (drums). The former two started the band and found the latter to complete their energetic sound as they are an important part of the sound.

The album opens with a statement. 'Chasin'' has surfrock written all over it. Of course, this is far removed from what Dick Dale and such could create in the late 1950s. The reverb on the guitars and the rhythm jabs leave no doubt what the inspiration is. 'Pulp Fiction' could be the intermediate link of course. In the song the signature voice of Jolien Grünberg is another clear anchor. It is not your everyday voice, somewhat girlish with some helium assistance, just like the singer from the Danish band The Astroid Galaxy Tour, Mette Lindberg. The higher Grünberg sings, the more distinct her voice becomes.

Photo: Roan de Vries

It matches the firm background though. She surfs on the riffs of the guitars as if there is no danger underneath them at all. And there isn't for her, as the band carries her. Just listen to how "a dozen" Grünbergs sing out in the chorus of 'Wanna Be A Star' or in the über track 'Tata's Lie'. Rock meets surf in abundance here with Grünberg cresting the highest waves the band is able to create. As far as I'm concerned this is THE GUNMOLL track and the first single in 2024. This ought to be a huge hit, but unfortunately the song does have seven writers, six producers and three featurings. I hear a lot of international bands playing rock songs like 'Tata's Lie', there are not a lot matching this prowess and energy.

The second influence that shines through is an eastern element in the music. GUNMOLL shows it for the first time in the prosaic 'Fuck Everything Up'. While Jolien Grünberg runs amok with full anarchic intentions, the guitars fire off one eastern sounding riff after another to my ears. For certain from further east than her Romanian roots. It is just a starting point for what is to come.

No matter what sort of genre the band explores, you can hear a few different bands as influence as well, the rock element is always up front. The guitar(s) will play a loud riff or lead line, that always excites. They set off Jolien Grünberg as well. The two match their intentions no little on Kill Your Darlings. Slowly but surely it becomes clear that the album is one big party the band leads you to and through.

Recently, I read on the website Musicmeter the comment that Dutch bands seldom excited the writer. I answered that I tend to disagree. GUNMOLL delivered the latest point of proof. Kill Your Darlings is an extremely exciting record and GUNMOLL is ready for more. This ought to be a breakthrough album.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order Kill Your Darlings here:

https://gunmoll.bandcamp.com/album/kill-your-darlings 

For The First Time, Again. Tyler Ballgame

Listening to For The First Time, Again for the second or third time, things started to fall in place. My introduction to Tyler Ballgame was via one of the singles for this album and that did no go down well. This does not keep me from listening to the album. In that second time I decided to start paying attention for real, as the first time did strike a cord.

The reason is quite easy to explain. From faint traces of Jeff Buckley to City + Colour, Ballgame's voice brought instant memories. Enough to start listening in earnest. Just hear his voice jump up in e.g. 'I Believe In Love', the second song on the album and you know enough.

With a name like Tyler Ballgame, you know to look beyond it. His true name is Tyler Perry, from Rhode Island, the smallest U.S. state. He started work on the album during the pandemic and early in 2026 is ready to share the whole with us. My God, with 'You're Not My Baby Tonight' he becomes a cross between Elvis and Jeff Buckley. If you think this is lunacy, just listen to the track to be convinced. It is a song that Elvis could have recorded effortlessly in his 1970s years. It is Ballgame's voice that brings the Buckley part in there. This man is not afraid to use an Elvis vibrato or to shoot up his voice like Jeff.

It is only an announcement of how diverse For The First Time, Again is. You will even encounter a The Rolling Stones style rocker in the form of 'Matter Of Taste'. No, Tyler Ballgame is no Mick Jagger, his voice even becomes rather ugly at some point, but his band rocks full out and that is exactly what the song needs. Later on in the album you'll find him explore a jazzy track and a Latin vibe.

After moving to L.A., Ballgame started participating in open mics, created a fanbase around himself and attracted the attention of Jonathan Rado and Ryan Pollie who wanted to make a record with him. From one came more new songs and here they are. If anything the album showcases the voice of Tyler Ballgame. The songs are built around his voice and allows him to explore all his ranges and tones. No, Tyler Ballgame is no Jeff Buckley, but then I have never heard anyone else song like that and I am one of the lucky ones to have heard him sing live. A struck by lighting, caught in my tracks kind of experience it was. That Ballgame is not, but he is special and very much worth while to explore. I would give him a chance and then another if necessary, just like I did.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order For The First Time, Again here:

https://tylerballgame.bandcamp.com/album/for-the-first-time-again 

FLARE. Plantoid

FLARE kicks off with a bunch of noise. At the same time I'm under the impression to have put on an old U.K. record where rock meets jazz. What was it? 1978? When Allan Holdsworth and Bill Bruford were still in the band. Plantoid has obviously listened to this record in someone's dad's record collection.'Parasite' is the name of the song. It is quite the opener for FLARE. Many people will have started running to protect their ears, those with ears screwed on right for a song like 'Parasite' are alert and ready for more.

Just listen to those drum fills in between all that noise. Louis Bradshaw is making quite an impression here. After this energetic intro the song brakes down totally and reveals the soft, almost whispering voice of singer Chloe Spence. Her voice is regularly multitracked, stacked Chloes reaching me in all sorts of highs and lows and different levels of intensity. And all at the same time.

Musically, Dutch prog band The Gathering from circa 30 years comes to mind, like on 'Mandylion'. Plantoid is able to bring the same level of mysteriousness to 'Parasite', until the U.K. version of the band returns, with a just as intense outro as the song started with. Guitarist Tom Coyne really takes his spot here, going full out.

From here on things do not get that intense any more. Plantoid is off to show all sorts of different sides to itself and its musicianship. The band is not afraid to experiment and explore where a song can take itself. That leads to some surprising changes in songs. I leave you to explore here for yourself. What stands out is the soft voice, even girl like voice of Spence. She may enter jazz territory every once in while, but always soft and gentle.

Promo photo

The two gentlemen behind her, assisted by producer and sometimes live member Nathan Ridley, take care of the wall of sound. The play subtlety when needed, but in a song like 'The Weaver' guitar overdubs enter my ears by brute force. In the lead single 'Dozer' it is more of a wall of sound, followed by a very jazzy outing. There are several sides to Plantoid. In most songs however brevity is not one of them. Songs are there to explore, turn inside out and see what comes out. In the Welsh studio, where the band was preparing for its second album, there was improvisation and jamming for hours on end, which led to FLARE. Debut album 'Terrapath' was released nearly two years ago.

Flair is an album that is not all for me. It moves towards my fringe regularly and even beyond my taste, but no matter what, the songs on FLARE impress without exception. It comes highly recommended to take your own chances.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order FLAIR here:

https://plantoidworld.bandcamp.com/album/flare 

 

Kim Janssen live. Livingroom concert Haarlem, Saturday 31 January 2026

Photo: WdN-vdB

It was a grey Saturday afternoon, a cold, damp winter day. Inside it is warm. Kim Janssen walked into the house with a guitar case and two tote bags with albums in them. The soundcheck consisted of tuning his guitar. The room had slowly filled up with new and familiar faces all in anticipation of what they would get to hear. Most people had come over for the experience and not so much because of the artist. Nearly almost everyone went home an experience richer and as new fans of the artist.

It was not so different for Kim Janssen. Before the show he had indicated to look forward to play some songs that he does not play in a band setting, an indication that the variation of playing songs in such a small setting is a pleasant change for an artist as well. A few years ago Janssen played two support slots for Kensington's residency in the Ziggo Dome, to illustrate two extremes in his career.

With albums like 'Video Days', 'Cousins; and 'The Lonely Mountain' to his name, he has a lot of interesting songs to choose from. It translated into a very intimate show with an either intimately strummed or delicately picked guitar, to accompanied his voice. That could range from moderately dark to high, "I have to sing multiple voices from the record all by myself", as he said.

In the introduction to one song, we were told to imagine all the strings that the song consists of on record. I remember thinking 'what would I make of it' ? and now writing I realise that I forgot all about the thought because of the beauty of this acoustic version. By then Kim Janssen had caught me completely with the strength of his songs. The intimacy of having an artist play in a living room is can't be replicated in any other setting. I wish all artists to play Paradiso level and better, but seeing them so up close is a treasure. It gives insight into the nucleus of the songs, just like they were conceived.

In the stories in between Kim Janssen explained the inspirations for songs, making the show even more intimate. Living in Thailand and Nepal as a child. Going to school there, living with the fear of a major earthquake there. It makes listening to the song and its lyrics even more special.

We were treated to one or two new songs as well that are in the process of being recorded. To hear them on record will take at least one year. Patience is the word, but this live experience is not going to be taken away from audience and artist.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order Kim Janssen's albums here:

https://snowstar.bandcamp.com/album/cousins 

 

All Good Things. Bertolf & Nomden

Bertolf Lentink and Diederik Nomden have made a name for themselves in the past decades in The Netherlands. As musicians in bands like Ilse de Lange (Bertolf) respectively Johan and The Analogues (Nomden). To a lesser extent as solo artists. As both have a love for perfect pop songs and The Beatles, their teaming up as a duo is something that could not be labelled as totally unexpected, which is different from predictable.

The result is the album All Good Things. It is filled with songs that strive for perfection, to receive the qualification earworm. Songs that bring to mind the 1960s most of the time. It is clear that a lot of attention went into the details of the songs, as the arrangement can easily be called lush. They make the album sound like a warm bath. Like some of the earlier albums of Moody Blues do, before the band went on hiatus for five years. With one major difference, the pop feel of All Good Things is far higher. In that the influences from the decades following the 60s are evident, including pop-rock and Britpop and even Johan.

The centrepiece of the album are the voices of Bertolf and Nomden. The joy they get from singing together shines through on the album for the whole of the time. Every possible harmony has been explored, I'm convinced it has. The result is an album that sounds instantly recognisable because of it. The songs on All Good Things sound like they have been here for most of my life, yet clearly are not. This makes the album a warm bath that covers you instantly.

I am not going to pick out a few songs like I usually do, as this does not make sense for this album. The qualifications of the album have just been summed up. Examples do not make it a better review. If you love pop perfection, this is the album to go for this month. They are none better in January 2026.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can order All Good Things here:

https://excelsior-recordings.com/products/bertolf-nomden-all-good-things