Description
The Ghent home of Reinhard Vanbergen and Charlotte Caluwaerts has proven a cornucopia of wonderful pop music in past years. From the critical triumph of their indie-disco project Rheinzand (alongside Mo Disko) to a sprawling catalog of solo and collaborative albums, the two seem to have struck upon a bottomless goldmine of dazzling electronic pop.
On this newest release, the pair team up with electronic sound magician Reinhard Roelandts to deliver a teeming bundle of intelligent and atmospheric electronic pop.
From the bleeping neo-psychedelia of ‘More Than I Wanted’ or ‘Consolation for the Times’ to the shrewd art-pop of ‘Bitter Silhouette’ or the quirky aquatic charm of ‘Only Love’.
The sound is playful and whimsical yet assured and sophisticated. It is a more humble and reflective pop than for example Rheinzand’s operatic disco. Still not afraid to rock the house, though, as evident on the galvanized ‘Days in Between’ or the rousing, anthemic ‘Dagger’. References span from Animal Collective to Cate Le Bon to Scott Walker.
This truly enigmatic sound is built from Roelandts' maverick experimentation with homemade modular synths layered among multi-instrumentalist Vanbergen’s acoustic arrangements. This was also the recipe for last year’s Reinhard & Reinhard. The new element now, of course, is Charlotte’s vocals. But it is an addition that alters the shape, the songs here being more structured and dramatic, built around the enchanting vocals and their wistful and dreamy lyrical motifs.
