Buy One, Get One Free!

Freelance Whales and Broken Records in de Melkweg, February 9th

Why both bands were on the same bill is still a mystery but America's Freelance Whales and Scotland's Broken Records played the old Melkweg room last wednesday. Different bands with a different sound. But if you liked both bands it was 2 for the price of 1.

Freelance Whales debut "Weathervanes" is a rich, smart album in line with other Ivy League groups like Vampire Weekend, Bishop Allen, MGMT etc. Wellcrafted songs, good lyrics and use of instruments that don't fit the standard rock format. Xylophones, keyboards, harmonies. Freelance Whales' strength is the quality of their songs that are full of MGMT/Clap Your Hands easy but effective keyboard licks mixed with some Vampire Weekend doing Graceland, Sufjan Steven's melody lines and Postal Service interplay of keyboards and vocals. It's not an overpowering rock band but a group of people who want the songs the speak for themselves, and they do.

Different and effective in a very different manner are Broken Records from Scotland. They have been around a little while longer and that shows with a mature set. Touring in support of their latest, and great, album they showed that good songs can be made great if played right. Singer Jamie Sutherland's contact with the audience was engaging and confident. Funny stories about German interviews followed. Broken Records are one of the many amazing bands coming out of Scotland with a similar style and emotionality; We Were Promised Jetpacks, Twilight Sad and Frightened Rabbit to name but a few. Broken Records has the addition of a violion that thanks to use of pedals never becomes a classic edition but an extra layer of sound.


Both bands might have had little in common, but seeing both live shows the many faces of rock and roll and the power of alternative music today.

Frightened Rabbit - Winter of Mixed Drinks / Live Paradiso April 11th, 2009

What can you do after playing a show at 5:30: you can watch a film or call your mom. Plenty of jokes by Scott Hutchison concerning the early time of the concert in Paradiso’s upstairs room. At least, as he said, the curtains where shut so it was still dark. It’s not a very rock and roll time of day, but that’s what you get with a full Paradiso, at least they didn’t play in Bitterzoet. If the early time was also the reason why it was not completely full… it could be.

Though already having released 2 albums prior to their breakthrough “Winter of Mixed Drinks” this was the first time for the Scottish band in Amsterdam. “WoMD” is getting great reviews and rightly so. Frightened Rabbit have a similar sound to fellow Scotsmen We Were Promised Jetpack and the Twilight Sad. Atmospheric guitar music that is typified by almost minimalist use of chords. One chord would be played for quite a few bars before changing to a different chord. To these chords are then added layers of sound using guitars, keyboards and a score of pedals. Out of this wall of sound then comes the Scottish drawl of Hutchinson. The guitars all sound great and they did as well live. “Winter of Mixed Drinks” has a few highlights, some of which are the excellent singles ‘Swim Until You Can’t See Land’ and ‘Nothing Like You’ or ‘Living in Colour’ as part of the encore. Impressive was the first song of the encore where Hutchinson sung a song with just acoustic guitar, without the aid of amps and microphones. It was also the only song where the vocals were clear, in the other songs his voice got muddled and his at times great lyrics were unfortunately not heard.

While not yet having reached the elaborate soundscaping genius of the Twilight Sad or the great songwriting of We Were Promised Jetpacks their album will turn up in some end-of-the-year lists and their next show in Amsterdam definitely won’t be at 5:30 on a Sunday in a small room in Amsterdam but a bigger venue with people standing outside trying to get a ticket from someone because it’s sold out.

Explorer 23 for June 2nd

And Good Day To You.

No major upsets this week.


01 03 03 We Were Promised Jetpacks - Quiet Little Voices (1x#1)
02 02 02 Animal Collective - Summertime Clothes
03 04 04 The Airborne Toxic Event - Happiness is Overrated
04 07 02 The Horrors - Who Can Say
05 01 05 The Thermals - Now We Can See (1x#1)
06 11 02 Fight Like Apes - Something Global
07 05 04 Dananananaykroyd - Black Wax
08 06 05 Neko Case - People Got A Lot Of Nerve (1x#1)
09 10 03 Super Tennis - Super Tennis Theme Song
10 20 02 Ida Maria - I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked
11 08 05 The Galacticos - He Said She Said
12 -- 01 Peter Fox - Das Haus Am See
13 17 02 God Help the Girl - Come Monday Night
14 12 05 Mastodon - Divinations
15 19 02 Noisettes - Never Forget You
16 15 14 The Joy Formidable - Whirring
17 -- 01 Wave Machines - I Go I Go I Go
18 09 05 The Horrors - Sea Within A Sea
19 -- 01 Bombay Bicycle Club - Dust on the Ground
20 13 05 The View - Temptation Dice
21 14 04 De Staat - Wait for Evolution
22 21 03 Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears - Sugarfoot
23 -- 01 Ten Page Pilot - In The City

Wide Eyed Explorer for May 26th

Back with a new list. First time ever a band has two songs in the list, and two in the Top 10 even. The Horrors are on their way to become a 2009 sensation and it shows. The Thermals and their O-A-O-A-O-O reached #1. Highest newcomer ever is Animal Collective with the appropriate Summertime Clothes. Ida Maria's song was re-released in the US and deserves to be in our Top 23. Enjoy!


TW LW #W
01 02 04 The Thermals - Now We Can See (1x#1)
02 -- 01 Animal Collective - Summertime Clothes
03 15 02 We Were Promised Jetpacks - Quiet Little Voices
04 08 03 The Airborne Toxic Event - Happiness is Overrated
05 13 03 Dananananaykroyd - Black Wax
06 01 04 Neko Case - People Got A Lot Of Nerve (1x#1)
07 -- 01 The Horrors - Who Can Say
08 03 04 The Galacticos - He Said She Said
09 04 04 The Horrors - Sea Within A Sea
10 20 02 Super Tennis - Super Tennis Theme Song
11 -- 01 Fight Like Apes - Something Global
12 06 04 Mastodon - Divinations
13 09 04 The View - Temptation Dice
14 05 03 De Staat - Wait for Evolution
15 23 03 The Joy Formidable - Whirring
16 07 04 The Gaslight Anthem - Great Expectations
17 -- 01 God Help the Girl - Come Monday Night
18 10 04 Pains of Being Pure At Heart - Young Adult Friction
19 -- 01 Noisettes - Never Forget You
20 -- 01 Ida Maria - I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked
21 19 02 Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears - Sugarfoot
22 14 04 Love Is All - Wishing Well
23 17 04 A Place To Bury Strangers - Missing You