The Avonden - God Is De Liefde

Second release on Lewsberg's Soft Office imprint following that crucial Chronophage record we were shouting about a few weeks back (back in stock IMMINENTLY btw), and this one's equally special. Originally released as a super lowkey CD-r back in 2014 and now on vinyl and alive in the wider world for the first, The Avonden's debut is a fairly ambitious affair that belies its lackadaisical Velvets worship surface. Pairing VU-period hooks with the poetry of Dutch queer poet renegade Gerard Reve, The Avonden communicate a gentle profundity, one which resonates regardless of whether you understand Dutch or not (and i do not). In much the same way as Lewsberg make it work, there's hooks for days here, presented in that timeless country jangle 'n; chug manner that seems to reanimate every few years to make us fall in love all over again. The fellas at Soft Office describe this as the best Dutch-sung album of the century. I'm no expert on such things, but there's more than enough evidence here to suggest they know what they're chatting about. And besides, as far as i'm concerned, this kind of "wake me without warning/ jingle-jangle morning/fly away to heaven on a star" boppin' is a universal truth. Very limited as per.