VANDERMEER have released quite a chunk with "Grand Bruit."
The work is stylistically situated somewhere between shoegaze, indie rock, a pinch of punk, noise, emo, and alternative avant-garde. The twelve songs are very diverse and at the same time demanding. They require to be listened to and, above all, felt. This can be quite exhausting, as the song "Piu Piu" or the following song "All Sleek all Glass" proves. Both songs have clear emo influences, and the intense use of the drummer's cymbals paired with a noisy guitar creates a challenging sound from the speakers. Of course, this sound fits the emotions that the band wants to express through the music, which singer Harmke van der Meer also achieves with her voice. Harmke van der Meer has a really good singing voice. The quiet parts, which are also present on "Grand Bruit," are sung just as well and honestly as the loud parts that sound of anger and despair.
Like so many albums, this work was also created during the Corona pandemic, so it is not surprising that the experiences we had with loneliness, despair, anger, and hopelessness are reflected in the songs of "Grand Bruit."
VANDERMEER have not released an easy album with "Grand Bruit." The 12 songs are rather a reflection of the past two years.
Difficult times certainly foster artistic output, as is the case with VANDERMEER. The album would surely have turned out quite differently had the times been different.
"Grand Bruit" comes in a beautiful digipack with text that is printed far too small, as well as a double vinyl in stores, and is of course also available digitally.
