Drama. Dishes

Wow! Put Drama on and within 10 seconds Dishes will have blown you off your feet. After the sole guitar intro of 'Machine Learning' the band pushes the pedal in right to the metal and in principal only takes it off when the final second of the record is fading out off my ears.

Only a few days ago, I encountered single 'Requiem' and wrote a small post for the singles section (see coming Sunday). Listening to 'Requiem' I knew instantly that I had to listen to Drama, fast. Here is the result of several listening sessions since.

Yes, I may have heard albums like Drama before but seldom has a band convinced me with the ease that Dishes has. The energy shared with the listener is enough to burn down the house for full overload of all the systems. The band simply does not let go of its listeners.

The band formed in 2021 and comes from both Amsterdam and Leiden. It's members are Shireen (van Dorp), vocals, Swaan, bass and background vocals, Kim, guitar and background vocals, Jurre, guitar and Eric, drums. After a few singles, the band released its debut album a few weeks ago.

To me, it doesn't make sense to pick out a few songs. Why? Nnearly all songs go off and keep up a huge pace and loads of power from the first to the very last second. What stands out, is the clear voice of singer Shireen that always is in command of the band. Whether this works out live just as well, I can't tell (yet). In the mix Shireen is always on top of the music, so that her lyrics can be followed for the whole of the way, while the band is hacking away, grinding everything in its place. It's a good thing, as she has several messages she wants to share with us. Don't worry, the lead guitar has its moment too, making the album even better.

Should you like a comparison, then only one band comes to mind: traumahelikopter and only in its best, up tempo songs at that. Dishes manages to capture that same sort of energy and keep it up for the whole of the record.

In the past say seven, eight, years I have heard many good (post-)punk bands coming out of The Netherlands but never has a band convinced me of its quality so instantly as Dishes has. And yes, that includes Tramhaus, Marathon, Slow Worries, etc. Drama is an absolutely top album and one of the best releases of 2026 so far.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order Drama here:

https://dishes.bandcamp.com/album/drama 

The Secret To Good Living. Hiding Places

Hiding Places is a band from Brooklyn, N.Y. The band is announced as indierockers, but you will encounter a few flavours of indierock on the album. From shoegaze and grunge to slowcore and everything in between. Just as easily I'm remembered of Hole, without the vocal antics, as of Veruca Salt and even Low. Hiding Places captures all these different musical outings and moods on The Secret Of Good Living.

It is the debut album of Hiding Places, following an EP from 2024 called 'Lesson'. The band is a four-piece consisting of Audrey Keelin, Henry Cutting, Nicholas Byrne, and Michael Matsakis, with Keelin and Byrne alternating as lead vocalist. The band members all moved from rural Georgia to Brooklyn to come together, rehearse and record the first album, which is followed by a tour.

The album opens with a riff bringing Blur's 'Beetlebum' to mind, to change tack becoming its own song fast. 'Dead Dove (Your Love Was Never A Waste Of Time)' is a grungy song, with distorted guitars that spring to the fore first. Listening deeper, it becomes clear that the song breathes despite the huge sound of the two guitars (off and on some more). The huge opening riffs do not completely deliver, as the song tones down somewhat halfway. It opens itself up as it were, making the song more interesting to listen to. Audrey Keelin opens as lead singer. She is able to share uncertainty as well as convince all at once with her voice.

'Dead Dove (Your Love Was Never A Waste Of Time)' is a bellwether for the rest of the album. The band loves to share different sides to itself. Second song 'Holy Roller' is a great example of how perfectly dynamics are used by Hiding Places. If I have to place 'Holy Roller' somewhere, it is in between Wednesday's rock songs and 'Death By Diamonds And Pearls' by Band of Skulls. It has the stutter rock/grunge of the latter and that well-studied sloppiness of the former. For me that makes 'Holy Roller' the price song of The Secret To Good Living.

When you go through the album, Hiding Places will surprise you a few more times. It is not afraid of putting you on the wrong foot musically, before coming back to what it is the nucleus of its music. That can include the use of an organ that wasn't there before. You'll find some experimental music here and there. It all makes for interesting listening. You will not see me claiming The Secret To Good Living is a life-changing experience. For that the music on the album sounds too familiar. What The Secret To Good Living is, is a great and interesting debut album from a band that is honing its chops and will most likely only get better soon by playing more. If you're into indierock, Hiding Places is the band to check out next.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order The Secret To Good Living Here:

https://hidingplacesnc.bandcamp.com/album/the-secret-to-good-living-2 

Clipping. Special Friend

Indie rock of good to best quality can come from anywhere in the world today. The exclusivity of the U.S.A. and the U.K. has long been cracked by bands from other countries. A prove of point is Special Friend's third album, and first on this blog, 'Clipping'.

Special Friend plays that kind of sparkling indie rock that gives the songs a pop feel like a glass bubbling over when pouring Coke or beer in too fast. Right at the very start 'Paints A Picture' shows it with that bubbly guitar part that works its way throughout most of the song. Add the voices of Guillaume and Erica, who weave in and out of each other and despite the song holding a little melancholy streak, the sun starts shining instantly. (And it is in abundance while writing.)

Special Friend is an French-American duo from Paris, consisting of Erica Ashleson (drums, vocals) and Guillaume Siracusa (guitar, vocals). They alternate lead vocals, but also weave their vocals regularly, with different lyrics at that. They formed Special Friend in 2018 and with Clipping release their third album. Clipping was recorded at Studio Claudio by Alexis Fugain and Margaux Bouchaudon. Between them they decided to expand on the duo setting, making it impossible to play live what you hear on record, but all the more interesting. Just listen to the experimental 'Mustard' for example. 

Photo: Jules Vandales

The whole is an enrichment of the duo setting though. An overdubbed guitar, a synth or organ, all make the sound of the band fuller and essential. More so, because the songs of Special Friend are well above the average. They got to me during the first listening session and from there grew a little more each time. Whether more up tempo or slower like in 'Mold', where Erica Ashleson harmonises with herself, the duo always finds an angle that makes the song interesting to listen to, multiple times.

What I like especially, is how the mood of Clipping, which in general can be called light, can be changed with just a little growl of an extra guitar or just a few extra notes added to the song. With a minimum of effort, a song comes alive even more. You can find a few examples all through the album. Add a detail like this to all that already makes Clipping stand out and the band convinced me I'm listening to something special.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order Clipping here:

https://specialfriend.bandcamp.com/album/clipping 

Country Dragon. Mountaineer

Mountaineer is back with a new album after 'Lewis & Clark' (2022), the third in total with '1974' (2014). The bio accompanying the album speaks of a headphone record and I am in total agreement. Country Dragon is a soft and silent album. All is downgraded to minimal accompaniment, exceptions noted. There are two ways to enjoy this album to the max. Either with a headset on or turn your speakers up to a loud volume. In both cases the music will absorb you and more or less take you over.

Marcel Hulst, who is Mountaineer, has worked for one and a half year on the record with producer Diederik van den Brandt (Aidan & the Wild), and it shows. Country Dragon is a rich album with lush arrangements. Even in its minimal setting there is so much to enjoy. Musically and vocally a lot is going on. I do not have information on who is playing on the record, but I suppose that the basis is the members of Maggie Brown, Marcel Hulst's other (or former?) band.

The album came together in a time of personal hardship, where creating music became a personal escape. Unfortunately, from the artist's point of view, it seems an artist needs hardship or unhappiness to get truly inspired. The result is often a musical high and Country Dragon is no exception. The album is of a richness that the two previous albums cannot claim. It could be that working with the Excelsior label opened possibilities that were unattainable before. An extra instrument here, an extra singer there. I was already enthusiastic about '1974' and 'Lewis & Clark'. With Country Dragon Mountaineer has gone next level. Mountaineer and Excelsior have finally found each other. It was about time in my humble opinion.

Where album 'Lewis & Clark' was named after the two famous explorers, who in 1804 travelled the whole of the U.S. from St. Louis all the way to the mouth of what we now call the Columbia River. It was all about looking forward. With Country Dragon the demise of the U.S. is the theme. The shine went off of that shiny city on the hill in the past year. Marcel Hulst has a long-time fascination with the U.S. but how to be fascinated in a positive way with what is going on there today? It's more a horrorshow. Inspiration galore though.

Promo photo

The outcome of this fascination is a beautiful record. As an example, I'm pointing you to 'Queen-Size Life'. The song starts with an intro that has a lone trumpet accompanying Hulst's acoustic guitar. It immediately sets a melancholy mood. In the verse a muted trumpet or French horn comes in. And then the ladies start singing with Marcel Hulst. Only then the band comes in and shivers run down my spine from musical pleasure. That lone piano! Just a few notes and it's enough to make an impression of sheer brilliance. What kind of music is this? Ballad pop? Folk? It doesn't matter, it's perfection. That description does it for me.

One month from now we are going to the LP presentation in De Nieuwe Anita. I'm really looking forward to hear the songs live. In the meantime, I will play this album a lot. It is one of the best in 2026 so far.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can order Country Dragon here:

https://excelsior-recordings.com/products/mountaineer-country-dragon-pre-order 

Valentine. Courtney Marie Andrews

De Amerikaanse muzikante Courtney Marie Andrews beschikt over een van de mooiste stemmen uit de Amerikaanse rootsmuziek en heeft ook met Valentine weer een indrukwekkend mooi album afgeleverd.

Met het eind 2022 verschenen Loose Future had Courtney Marie Andrews de lat wel erg hoog gelegd voor zichzelf. Ze heeft daarom de tijd genomen voor Valentine, dat deze week is verschenen. Het is een album dat wederom werd gemaakt met een klein team en dat, net als zijn voorgangers, indruk maakt met mooie en bijzondere klanken en een vakkundige productie. Ook de songs van de Amerikaanse muzikante zijn weer van hoog niveau en het zijn ook dit keer zeer persoonlijke songs. Het mooist van alles blijft echter de stem van Courtney Marie Andrews, die ook op Valentine weer prachtig zingt. Loose Future blijft een werkelijk fantastisch album, maar Valentine komt zeker in de buurt.

Courtney Marie Andrews had al meer dan een handvol albums op haar naam staan toen ik tien jaar geleden voor het eerst een album van haar hoorde. Met Honest Life trok de Amerikaanse muzikante overigens niet alleen mijn aandacht, want het album kon zowel in de Verenigde Staten als in Europa rekenen op zeer positieve recensies en werd in rootskringen liefdevol omarmd. 

Sindsdien mag Courtney Marie Andrews worden gerekend tot de smaakmakers binnen de Amerikaanse rootsmuziek. Die status dankt ze aan haar vermogen om zeer aansprekende songs te schrijven, maar vooral aan haar bijzondere mooie en gevoelige stem en aan haar zeer persoonlijke teksten. 

Na Honest Life kon ik ook May Your Kindness Remain uit 2018 en Old Flowers uit 2020 zeer waarderen, maar mijn favoriete album van Courtney Marie Andrews is het in de herfst van 2022 verschenen Loose Future. Op Loose Future werkte de muzikante uit Phoenix, Arizona, samen met producer en multi-instrumentalist Sam Evian en met muzikanten Josh Kaufman (Bonny Light Horseman) en Chris Bear (Grizzly Bear), wat een verrassend origineel klinkend rootsalbum opleverde. 

Loose Future haalde in 2022 de top 10 van mijn jaarlijstje, maar inmiddels schat ik het album nog wat hoger in. Ik was dan ook al maanden benieuwd naar het afgelopen herfst aangekondigde nieuwe album van Courtney Marie Andrews, dat deze week is verschenen. 

Op Valentine werkt de Amerikaanse muzikante samen met producer Jerry Bernhardt en dat is een naam die bij mij geen belletje deed rinkelen. Ik had na het zo succesvolle Loose Future en de twee albums die er aan vooraf gingen eigenlijk weer een producer van naam en faam verwacht, maar Jerry Bernhardt heeft prima werk geleverd. Ook Valentine is een album dat anders klinkt dan de meeste andere rootsalbums van het moment. Net als op Loose Future varieert Courtney Marie Andrews er ook op haar nieuwe album flink op los. 

De muzikante uit Phoenix, Arizona, had op haar vorige albums vaak een zwak voor folk, country en pop uit de jaren 70 en dat zijn invloeden die ook op Valentine een belangrijke rol spelen. Dat kon in het verleden nog wel eens een album opleveren dat zo was weggelopen uit de Laurel Canyon Scene van de late jaren 60 en vroege jaren 70, maar op haar nieuwe album wandelt Courtney Marie Andrews met zevenmijlslaarzen door de tijd. 

Ik ben echt zeer gecharmeerd van het geluid op Loose Future, maar ook Valentine klinkt prachtig. De songs van Courtney Marie Andrews zijn ook dit keer zeer persoonlijk en vaak behoorlijk melancholisch, maar het is geen album om somber van te worden. Valentine is over het algemeen niet zo heel ver verwijderd van zijn voorganger, al is het maar omdat de stem van de Amerikaanse muzikante de meeste aandacht trekt bij beluistering van het album. 

Courtney Marie Andrews beschikt over een uit duizenden herkenbare stem en het is een stem die ook op Valentine weer met grote regelmaat goed is voor kippenvel. Het doet me af en toe wel wat denken aan de stem van Maria McKee, maar Courtney Marie Andrews heeft absoluut een eigen geluid. Ik begon met onwaarschijnlijk hoge verwachtingen aan Valentine, maar ze zijn verrassend makkelijk waargemaakt. Erwin Zijleman

De muziek van Courtney Marie Andrews is ook verkrijgbaar via de bandcamp pagina van de Amerikaanse muzikante:

https://courtneymarieandrews.bandcamp.com/album/valentine