Finally! After having written reviews for more than two years about self-pitying American bands, snobby English bands, pointless French bands, and incomprehensible Japanese bands, I finally get the opportunity to review a DUTCH band (if you haven't taken the time to read the highly informative staff pages, I'm Dutch). This honor goes to Bauer, formed by Berend Dubbe, ex-member of Bettie Serveert. Bauer has previously released two records: On the Move (1999), made entirely by Dubbe alone; and it's successor, the gorgeous Can't Stop Singing (2000), which he made together with his new band member Sonja van Hamel. And now it's finally time for the much expected third record, Baueresque, to hit the stage (well, the Dutch stage at least; Bauer is still searching for an American label).
"Gezellig" is the Dutch word best describing Bauer's music. It roughly translates to a combination of pleasure, coziness, and companionship. Gezellig could be having a dinner with good friends and family and playing Monopoly afterwards. Bauer's musical translation of this typical Dutch feeling is done with lots of vintage synthesizers (stocked to the ceiling in their small Amsterdam apartment) and loosely resembles Mercury Rev-style bands, with the critical distinction that Bauer never aspires to be as divine or magical. Their music stays firmly to the ground, never flies, and is very levelheaded. This doesn't mean that it's boring. Baueresque is full of splendid melodies and vocals which van Hamel and Dubbe equally provide. Van Hamel, whose voice resembles Aimee Mann, sings about alienation from friends on one of the record's highlights ("Thin White Line"), while Dubbe sings with the voice of a classic radio host about combining an office job and being a rock star ("Cubicle").
So, please do me a favor when you get to Amsterdam: Besides getting high, drunk and visiting the Van Gogh museum, pick up a copy of Baueresque. It's Dutch, dammit!
1. Bouillabaisse of Brilliance
2. Libitz in a Car
3. A Renegade Cop
4. Cubicle
5. The Record Machine
6. Thin White Line
7. It's Getting Better
8. Life's a Breeze
9. Open Air
10. A Bird Called Fish
11. Swag
12. Climbing Trees
13. Doctor in Love
14. Everything After All
More about: Bauer
