When you think about The Netherlands with regard to alternative music, come to mind techno, trance, electro but, unlike the near Belgium, very few 80’s post punk/new wave and beyond bands, surely Wally van Middendorp’s Minny Pops and the Plurex label, the goth darkwave of Clan of Xymox, then Nasmak, Mekanik Kommando, the anarcho avant punk of the long-lasting The Ex, the experimental Dick Polak’s Mecano, even in the indie scene the last band I noticed was Bettie Serveert, just recently Amber Arcades, it would be a interesting question for an interview.
It’s great to listen to a very compelling new Dutch two-piece band from Utrecht called Bragolin, possibly inspired by an Italian painter famous for his sad crying children, lead by Zwarte Poëzie‘s singer/guitarist Edwin van der Velde with Maria Karssenberg (guitar, organ, synths), who have just released their brilliant 8-track debut album “I Saw Nothing Good So I Left” forthcoming also on CD and vinyl formats via Young & Cold Records in spring/summer.
As opposed to Zwarte Poëzie, Bragolin‘s songs are entirely sing in English language, less gloomy and with strong undercurrent of ‘90s shoegaze reverb and 80’s synth-laden synthpop , all assimilated and channelled in a passionate and distinctive shimmering way, as “Into Those Woods” clearly shows, propelled by pounding beats soon laced with mesmerizing baritone guitar leads underpinned by keyboards notes, to build a subtle, underlying, unsettling feel throughout, fuelled by the touching and evocative vocals, resulting in an utterly addictive, extremely persuasive and unpredictable dark epic sound.
Check out the DIY haunting video with clips taken from Sam Raimi’s 1981 horror masterpiece “The Evil Dead”.
Keep up with Bragolin :
Photo by Isolde Woudstra Photography
