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 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