MOTHER BASS – MOTHER BASS – FREYA RECORDS

I decided to go over to the band site to get some more information, only to discover that the site itself is incredibly poor, but I did learn something, namely that they call their style neo-grunge. Now, I thought I was pretty up on the sub-sub-genres, but I must confess that this is a new one on me, especially when however I think about it, it’s not at all accurate! The Dutchmen may think that they are taking influences from the end of the Eighties, but they’re nearly twenty years out, as this is early Seventies/late Sixties to a tee, as they bring together Blue Cheer, Free, Taste, Sabbath, and others into a glorious noise.

The rhythm section keeps it tight, while the guitar pumps out riffs and chords that are fat enough to saddle and go for a ride on, and then at the front, there is singer Daan Dekker. The guy has a wonderfully broad emotional set of pipes, and he knows it. I haven’t seen any live performances, but if he doesn’t absolutely own the stage then I would be amazed. The band gives him the platform to strut his stuff, and he does that with aplomb. This is honest music, with no room to hide, as they just lock into the groove and I find it almost impossible to sit still while listening to it as it is just so infectious. This is real music from real musicians, who don’t feel a need to produce to any sort of expectation but instead have produced music from the heart. Solid stuff.

by Kev Rowland