Dust Free. Free Dust

Only recently I marvelled on this blog on the attraction of a band that disbanded in 1970, not having enjoyed any form of commercial success, yet its influence is felt strongly still, 55 years later. Listen to Dust Free and that band is all over the debut album of the North Brabant band with nearly the same name.

Free Dust is Niek Leenders - vocals, guitars, keyboards, Tim Leenders - bass and Inge Kies - drums. Niek Leenders has featured on this blog before as member of Nouveau Vélo. In fact only recently album 'Fruit' received a review. The trio stepped as it were into a time machine and presents the wild and far darker side of the 1960s on this album. Music that came out of Hell's Kitchen and not Greenwich Village on the island of Manhattan.

The guitars are ramshackle and wobbly, the drums are being pounded instead of played, the bass lays a sound foundation and a Farfisa organ lays something almost annoying on the fringes of songs. Nearly all songs have a faint resemblance to just one song, 'I Can't Stand It'. The first release was as the opening song on Lou Reed debut solo album, 'Lou Reed'. The first recording though was released in 1985 on 'VU', which may be my favourite The Velvet Underground album. Enter Dust Free and one song after the other bounces into my ears, bringing back happy memories from long ago, when I got to know 'VU'. If I'm to believe Wikipedia, one of the best albums, in my opinion, ever released, never meant to become one album, sold 90.000 copies. Free Dust will have an explosion of joy if it ever manages that though.

There is something strange with this album, for me at least. When I'm listening to it in my living room over the stereo, I'm jumping around. When listening on my headset, it simply doesn't really come alive. This may have to do with the authentic sound of Dust Free. Yes, it's stereo but does sound antiquated and muddied with earplugs in. Perhaps that explains it, because the sound opens up through my speakers.

It does not keep me from writing though. Dust Free is an album fully deserving attention. It is a trip to the past and it is great to go there for a while. All eight songs make the cut with ease. A lot of attention went into details, as there is so much more to hear than just guitar, bass, drums and voice. Free Dust knew exactly what it was doing creating and arranging the songs. Rich is a nice description for these songs.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to Dust Free here:

https://free-dust.bandcamp.com/album/dust-free 

and buy on LP, cd or cassette here:

https://subroutine.nl/artists/free-dust/