Distel – Wapens (CD Album – Ant-Zen)
Genre/Influences: Experimental, industrial-cinematographic.
Background/Info: Hailing from The Netherlands “Wapens” (translated “Weapons”) is the fourth full length by this duo.
Content: They define their sound as ‘ultra / angst-pop’. I don’t know what you might expect from this kind of music, but one thing is for sure, Distel clearly brings something very unique. The tracks are clearly dark and are characterized by synth parts supporting the global production. It has something cinematographic-like, but also industrial and definitely experimental.
There are multiple vocal parts, which most of the time are half-spoken like. You’ll also notice Dutch vocals, making me think of a kind of horror tale.
+ + + : I always have liked artists that create something different from the masses. That’s precisely what Distel stands for and I even dare to speak about a visionary album. The mixture between dark and industrial-like cinematographic music and a surreal kind of tales is something we don’t hear that much today. This project reminds me a bit of the golden years of Staalplaat. One thing is for sure, the dark sphere has something baleful.
– – – : The reverie-like synth parts are cool, but Distel sometimes seems to abuse this element. It sometimes resulted in a few monotonous passages such as “Adem”.
Conclusion: Distel doesn’t deal with the most accessible and easiest sound format. This album clearly sounds like a new challenge, but it definitely is a band to look out for!
Best songs: “Anima”, “Nachtland”.
Rate: (6½).
Artist: www.tuchtunie.nl/distel /
www.facebook.com/this.is.distel
Label: www.ant–zen.com / www.facebook.com/antzen.official
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