Burn Your Bridges
My Journey into the world of Belgian DIY Music
Adrianne and I are going to Belgium for two weeks in November and so I figured I would take a look at their independent rock music scene. I didn’t really know any bands from Belgium, save Slow Crush - the heavy shoegaze band.
When I started exploring, I found that there weren’t really a lot of rock bands in Belgium with any sort of notoriety. I found a few bands that are moderately successful, but most of them are obscure. Not that my signal boost is going to correct this crime, but I figured I would shine my relatively small flashlight on a scene that deserves a lot of attention.
I have a playlist of 20 bands that I found interesting and I’ll give you a quick blurb on them to see if it might be something that interests you too. It’s interesting because the scene feels like the 90s underground scene is happening NOW there, but in an organic way. These are bands that wear their influences on their sleeves. First the playlist:
Seeing Shapes by Teen Creeps - This is a band deeply entrenched in the sound of 90s bands that didn’t quite make it. It calls to mind bands like China Drum, Bivouac, and Skiploader. Melodic, great song writing, emotional vocals and minor keys.
Rating: A+
Witching Hour by Feverchild - This is a band that really evokes late 90s emocore. Sunny Day Real Estate and Texas is the Reason are the easiest RIYLs. Their bio says they have roots in hardcore and you can hear that.
Rating: B+
Cave Person by Peuk - If you told me that Peuk was active in the Pacific Northwest Riot Grrl scene in 1992, I would have believed you. They have better production values than L7 or Bikini Kill, but that’s one of the few indications this band is newer. They have a primal drive in their songs - “Why do you care? No one cares” followed by a scream.
Rating: B
Origamiwise by The Guru Guru - I fully expected to hate this band because of their song title and band name. It felt quirky for the sake of being quirky, one of the biggest sins in music for me. The song starts out solidly in pop rock, but then an infusion of QOTSA comes in with a heavy riff. Good use of dynamics and an interesting merger of a lot of different indie rock and alternative rock bands. They list Mars Volta, QOTSA and Radiohead as influences, but also Jesus Lizard and Andy Kaufman.
Rating: B
Toothpick by DIRK. - Opening with a driving bass line that calls to mind the best of the Pixies, DIRK. is a band that has had some success and I can see why. They mix great dynamics with clever song writing one of the strongest choruses I’ve heard in a long time. The pre-chorus repeating of alone gets a bit much for me, but the breakout into the chorus makes it all worthwhile for me.
Rating: A
Goliath by Ronker - They call themselves blackened post-punkgaze, indie metal and NINcore. All of that is silly to me. The vocalist has a howl reminiscent of Kurt Cobain. It’s riffy, but it worked its way into my brain. Not something I would normally listen to, but I couldn’t cut it from the list.
Rating: B-
Burn Your Bridges by HEISA - the best description I could come up with is System of a Down filtered through Sparta. This is post-hardcore from an earlier age, before it entered the mainstream and was turned into modern nu-metal.
Rating: B-
High School Lawyer by The Hickey Underworld - they took their name from a Nation of Ulysses song. They lack the urgency and chaotic energy of NOU, but they have a post-punk vibe that I can get down with. They feel like a more traditional alt-rock take on that scene, but feel like the channel other bands like Hot Snakes and Q and Not U.
Rating: B
Sugar by Crooked Steps - I was expecting riffy hard rock by a band I thought took their name from a Soundgarden song. Instead, they are a garage-y surf rock band that channels The White Stripes. Not really my sound, but they are good at it.
Rating: C+
Brave Face Days by Stoop Kid - emo-influenced indie rock that seems like it would be massive if based in Philadelphia instead of Belgium. I hope they took their name from the “Hey Arnold” character.
Rating: A-
Moscow Mule by Captain Kaiser - If this band plays The Fest, they will be huge. Anthemic, gruff punk that calls to mind some of the better earlier orgcore bands. They say they channel Sum 41, but tell me you couldn’t see them playing with any countless bands Mikey Erg has drummed for.
Rating: B-
The Lone Ranger by Frankie Traandruppel - channeling early punk rock in the best way, this feels urgent and fresh while calling back to the earliest days of DIY. Flipping between a croon and a howl, with a nice bit of a spoken interlude, this is what I want when I think of garage rock.
Rating: A
Rocky by Whorses - I’ll be honest, this section of bands is the questionable band names. I’m pretty sure it’s pronounced like Horses. This is another band that isn’t really my style, they feel more like a modern alternative rock band which isn’t my cup of tea. They at least had some good dynamics.
Rating: C
Cheyenne by Fake Indians - This is probably just my American bias, but this band name immediately raised a red flag. Instead, they were very catchy alternative rock. Like a cross between the more upbeat Smoking Popes stuff with 90s power pop.
Rating: B-
Listen by Poppel - self described as a janglegaze band. Gaze gets thrown onto a lot of things these days apparently. Can definitely feel the janglepop and shoegaze influence on this band though, so I don’t hate the label. Catchy, with bouncy guitarwork and a heavy dose of reverb. My Bloody REM? I liked it more than I expected.
Rating: B
Wallet in the Well by Junior - americana influenced indie rock, honestly a level of polish and songwriting I wasn’t expecting from this band. I’m kind of surprised they aren’t bigger, feels like it would have been huge in 2006 though.
Rating: B-
Put My Head in the Ground by Equal Idiots - This is what most people are going to think when they hear garage rock. Energetic, anthemic and buzzsaw guitars with the requisite ‘whoo!’ The other side of the 2000’s indie rock scene, feels like it would fit in well with The Hives or The Vines. Does the style well, but doesn’t do anything new.
Rating: C+
Daggers by High Hi - this is a very solid update of post-punk and new wave. The dual attack of male/female vocals and really solid song writing push this past so many other bands who end up feeling derivative. The song is lush, emotive and catchy. I was surprised how much I like it.
Rating: B+
Empty by Dennis - Dennis does something that is hard for a lot of bands to do, Empty sounds like an MTV buzz bin ready track while still managing to chart their own path. They evoke a 90s sound that mashes up a lot of different things that were popular while not sounding exactly like any of them. I would have worn this out in 1995.
Rating: B-
Ibogaine by Crowd of Chairs - most people probably aren’t going to like this and that’s fair. This is chaotic and noisy, this is a band that grew up on the more difficult indie rock bands and have continued to carry the torch of the Jesus Lizard and Steve Albini. They have the good sense to write a song though, in a way a lot of noise punk bands didn’t. This is abrasive but hooky.
Rating: B
If you do listen, let me know what you think in the comments.