If I told you that the new album from Dutch band Lewsberg featured music that sound like "The Gift" by The Velvet Underground would that make you want to run out (if you could got to a shop right now) and buy it? I mean, there are lots of band who look to VU for inspiration but very few who've done it with such laser-focus on one cut. The group's new record is called In This House and it's out now digitally via 12XU, with vinyl forthcoming as soon as possible.
"Left Turn" churns like something from Fontaines D.C. a tiny bit, while "From Never to Once" is more spindly -- think Feelies and The Fall. Elsewhere, "At Lunch" and "Cold Light of Day" suggest that Lewsberg are capable of mixing some folk elements in with things but, really, why bother? The sound of Lewsberg is entirely distinctive even as it echoes some obvious stuff pretty clearly. If that sounds like a dichotomy, it is. It's also the sort of tension that fuels the whole record. In This House works so well because this band are pushing at those influences, regurgitating them, and starting over again. Fresh, unlearned, and naive-but-sincere (like Young Marble Giants maybe), Lewsberg make indie in the best manner possible.
In This House is out now digitally via 12XU.
More details on Lewsberg via the band's official website.
[Photo: Hasret Emine]