Record Store Day 2016

For a few years in a row I got up early and queued up at the record store on Record Store Day to get my hands on those nice limited releases. But the last few years you can see that especially the bigger labels are driving up the prices and kind of put filler on so called limited releases. Smaller labels are experiencing longer production times and get in trouble with their regular releases. Therefore I don't get up early any more and just go to the stores for the bands and still will pick up some releases along the way. And that's what it really is about in the end right?

This year I rode my bike between Velvet Music and my favourite record store Concerto to see a few bands. Both stores have put together an interesting line-up and the day turns out great. Time for the pictures!

Bewilder

Naive Set

El Pino & The Volunteers

Giant Tiger Hooch

The Black Cult

All Pictures

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Tika Chases The Cold Away

Put a few musicians in a cabin for a while and maybe nice things will happen. That's in short the idea behind 'In A Cabin With'. It lead to nice and surprising combinations in the past. This time it was Moss' Marien Dorleijn and El Pino & The Volunteers' David Pino. They headed to La Peche in Canada and moved into a cabin in the bitter cold. Assisted by local musicians from the Canadian music scene and a black Labrador, named Tika. The result is now out on the album In A Cabin With. The duo call themselves Tika, yes indeed, named after the loyal dog...

Tika - In A Cabin With (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)

The combination between Dorleijn and Pino may not be a surprising one, but it is a logical one. The styles of both bands are not far apart and they both belong to the Excelsior group that produces interesting combinations more often. And it does result in nice music as hoped for. The voices of both men are colouring nicely and the harmonies are beautiful. Especially when Dorleijn with his characteristic voice takes the lead and Pino is supporting it. What's striking is that it all sounds familiar and convincing. As if the two musicians have been playing and recording for years.

The songs themselves are perfectly fine as well as can be expected. Some have been kept small and sound, maybe because of the freezing cold, intense and thin ('Hardware Store') or even threatening ('Guest House'). The songs are supported in a minimal way; smouldering like the last log in the fireplace. Other songs are full of fire or sound warm and friendly ('My Little Truth'). With a song like 'Different Shades of White' that remarkably sounds summery, it's nice to just dream away. Plenty of variation in those ten songs I'd say.

Again the In A Cabin With project succeeded in putting together a nice collaboration. It results in strong and varying songs, despite the fact that the choice of the musicians isn't that surprising and quite obvious. It may be a confirmation of how rich the Dutch music scene is in this segment. With an open approach and by stimulating musicians and enabling them to express their creativity, it is even getting more rich. Just take a look at the Happy Camper project or the collaboration between Roosbeef and Torre Florim in De Speeldoos. And now the more than successful Tika.

This review has been published on ROAR E-Zine in Dutch over here.

Official Website In A Cabin With

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Good Vibes with El Pino & The Volunteers

Around the time Dutch band Johan announced they were going to call it quits a year ago their drummer Jeroen Kleijn joined El Pino & The Volunteers. Being a big fan of Johan and Kleijn's drum playing I checked out this band and liked it right away. Their last album is full of beautiful songs and well produced. Their folk/americana music should please many people especially with the increased interest for this genre in the past year fronted by bands like Grizzly Bear and Mumford & Sons. Although I'm not a fan of this genre something in this band's music really works for me. But somehow El Pino remain a relative unknown band to my surprise that are still playing the smaller venues like Bitterzoet this time.

El Pino & The Volunteers at Bitterzoet Amsterdam, November 27 2010 (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
When we enter the club it is still pretty empty. Fortunately it slowly starts to fill up during the support act. When it's time for the main band the place has filled up for around three quarters. But it's a place with a lot of character and most people look like they are real El Pino fans so it has turned into a nice atmosphere. The band members take the stage and start to play their delicate melodies. The stage is quite small and the lighting is pretty basic so keyboard player Job Roggeveen and especially drummer Jeroen Kleijn are hidden in the back and in the dark for most of the show.



The songs of El Pino are full of harmonies and all have a sensitive touch. The band puts down layers of great sounding melodies. Guitar player Tjirk Deurloo knows how to fill in just enough guitar to give it that characteristic americana sound while David Pino's vocals add just enough emotion without sounding too sentimental. And of course bass player Mark van der Waarde and Deurloo's tasteful harmonies are the finishing touch. The beginning of the show the band seems a bit detached especially because in front of the stage there's an empty space. But David Pino asks everyone to come closer and loosens up during the show. He's always interacting with the crowd and is definitely in control of the band.



They don't play a very long set but everyone's listening and watching attentively due to the variation in tempo in the their set. There's even room for a bit of dancing now and then. Inspired by the dark and cold weather outside they start their encore with a Christmas song. A few more songs follow before it's time to get back in the cold. But all warmed up by the music that won't be a problem. This band really deserves to be a lot bigger than they are now. Check them out when you get the chance.

More Pictures

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Convincing Album Presentation by El Pino & The Volunteers

This year brought us so many beautiful Dutch new albums. One of them was Rotterdam based band El Pino & the Volunteers. A while ago they released their second album 'The Long-lost Art Of Becoming Invisible' in Rotown Rotterdam and now it finally was time to present it in Amsterdam.

El Pino & the Volunteers at Paradiso Amsterdam, December 10 2009 (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)

Between their debut album 'Molten City' and this album they had some band changes causing their sound to change with it. It shifted from americana to a more indie rock sound. This fits in perfectly with most of the other bands on the Excelsior label but can also result in a less distinctive position. But it's clear that they don't have to worry about that. It actually seems to work beneficial since the band plays a diverse set. Beautiful songs with nice harmonies are followed by powerful rock songs. They play very focused and despite the replacements already are fully adapted to each other.

Frontman David Pino is a confident singer and his stage appearance seems to come natural to him. Now and then he asks for a reaction from the crowd or to clap and sing along that most people gladly respond to. It all adds up to a pleasant night and it shouldn't be any problem for the band to win over new fans in their current tour and the upcoming festival season.


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Album Reviews: What's In A Name?

Some bands are more creative when it comes to their band name instead of their music. This time the short reviews include some interesting bands with even more interesting names and album titles for that matter: El Pino & The Volunteers, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Bombay Bicycle Club and The Phenomenal Hand Clap Band to name a few.

El Pino & The Volunteers - The Long-Lost Art Of Becoming Invisible (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
Nice second album by this Dutch band on the Excelsior label. Fits the Dutch alternative scene very well and do that in a good way. Lost some band members but got some good replacements. Seems like another band that can fill up the gap Johan leaves.



Bombay Bicycle Club - I had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
New indie rock heroes on the block's debut album. Got lots of exposure and even a bit of a hype. But it's really not that good to be getting that much attention. It's not bad don't get me wrong but it's indie rock as we know it.



Sweethead - Sweethead (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
Another Queens of the Stone Age member to release an album with a different band this time it's guitarist Troy van Leeuwen. Together with singer Serrina Sims and two member of the Mark Lanegan Band they bring dirty rock with some rough edges. Nothing special but it's a decent album. The blonde Sims with her 'femme fatale' looks could make the difference though.



Cymbals Eat Guitars - Why There Are Mountains (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
Catchy indie rock tunes with psychedelic synth. Walls of noise are followed by dreamy sound scapes. Most songs do seem to follow the same recipe making the record a bit long-winded.



Steel Panther - Feel The Steel (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
Is it Bon Jovi being the dirty? Or some other rock band from the States with explicit lyrics? Is that guy singing what I think he is? Yes, this is Steel Panther a parody heavy metal band. But they do it in a pretty convincing way. Good for a few laughs and still enjoyable if you're into this.



A Place To Bury Strangers - Exploding Head (Ronald Says 6 out of 10)
Lots of noise but not exciting enough to stay interesting. In the end you keep thinking how much better things could've been.



The Phenomenal Handclap Band - The Phenomenal Handclap Band (Ronald Says 6 out of 10)
Mix of psychedelica and disco. Pretty nice dancable songs but gets pretty old before the record's over.
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