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