Customer Reviews

Palomine(LP vinyl)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As so many others, "Kids alright" first drew me to this album in the summer of '93. I picked it up used at a local record store and found that it was full of raw, grungy, but not obnoxious sounds of emotion. Palomine is a wonderful example of low tech, hi emotion recording that is so over looked in this day of "bigger and better". This stuff gets in you and stays for a long time. It has such power without being over powering. This album will take you on an emotional "tour de France" through every nook and cranny of your soul. In my opinion, it's Bettie Serveert's most "true-to-themselves" and soul touching album by far. I still rank this virtually unknown album as one of my top 25 records of all time. Being a musician myself, people often ask me who my influences are and they almost never know who I am talking about when I say Bettie Serveert. I listen to palomine all the time to this day, and no matter how long it's been since I last heard this record, I still get that same feeling every time I hear it. It, quite simply, never gets old.

When you first hear this album, you can't help but notice the restraint practiced by this Dutch group. Can you hear classical training in composition behind the luminous Palomine? Or is it just the Dutch passion for the understated. Palomine teases the edges of "noise" enough to make it interesting while maintaining a harmonic composure that makes it an appealing, colorful recording.

Melodic, yet edgy, Carol van Dijk and the rest of the "groep" are capable of harnessing melody, rhythm and distortion artfully to evoke their message. While the Dutch are not by any means producers or fans of the indie/guitar rock genre, this band stands out in astonishing contrast to the jarring, mindless, techno/house music and American soft pop that dominated Dutch stereos when Palomine hit the stores. Living in the Netherlands at the time, I found myself seeking follow on CDs and was amazed that many Dutch hadn't heard of them.

Personally, Carol van Dijk's vocals strike a chord with me that I can only compare to the first time I heard Natalie Merchant or Liz Phair. Alternatively plaintive, sarcastic, brooding, and seductive, her voice isn't the only strong point in a group I believe is underated.

The "Kid's Allright" drew me to this CD in the first place and I ended up listening to it almost endlessly one summer. It's moody, dynamic, and powerful. The only thing better is seeing these songs performed live.

I heard this album at a friends house, loved it, bought it. Brilliant vocals, great rock guitar, but not overpowering. Can't go wrong with this one.

I've been listening to this for two years and finally searched amazon (no kidding) to get the true title etc. has stood up to time since its first listen-to in Flagstaff AZ. If they had better coverage everyone would know. Have since picked up other titles by this band. Can't say enough good things.

Bettie Serveet...what a great band! this danish group has rarely failed when it comes to putting out great albums stuffed with heartfelt pop rock and roll. if i had to make a comparison, i would say that, musically, they sound like Big Star or maybe the New Pornographers. lots of jangly big guitars, bittersweet ballads, hooks galore and a tight (but not too tight) rhythm section. Carol van Dijk's vocals are the real icing on the cake here. she has a great "lived-in" voice that sounds like she's been drinking whiskey and smoking cigarettes since she was age 3. it's so rough around the edges, yet so charming and adorably sweet. kim deal's got that same sort of vocal appeal. it goes a long way here to propel this band past a "yea...they're pretty good..." to "hey, this band is really good!" everyone of Bettie Serveet's albums are worth a listen and i can guarantee that if you get one, you'll want them all.
"Palomine" has the best cover of all their cd's. but be warned, once you open the digipack and see the band photo, you may wonder what the hell is wrong with them. let's just say that it's not the most flattering of band promo shots. but that is one of the charming aspects of this band...they are geeks...real dorks (or so their band photos would have you believe) but they are geeks who make some great music. once the guitars and drums kick into "Leg" you'll be hooked. the sweet "Kid's Allright" will make you feel a lump in your throat, and they even cover "Healthy Sick" by Lou Barlow.
i'm not sure what it is exactly about Bettie Serveet that is so great. it's just a very basic concept...guitar/bass/drums/vocals. but their songwriting is so crafty that they are able to instantly capture your attention and keep ahold of you in their pretty little web for the duration each amazing album. i'm hoping that they keep sticking around for awhile. it's getting hard to imagine getting used to them being gone.

I didn't find out about this cd until Fall of 2009 but hot dang I love it. I haven't been enamored with a cd like this one ever. I spun it over and over in my car and never got tired. It is just the freakin' bomb. It starts off strong but I like the last half of the album even more especially "Balentine".

So this cd was released in 1992. Did a single one of my useless friends hook me up with this awesome cd or tell me about? No, I had to wait 17 years until I discovered it on my own. Something I figured out in life is that you can't depend on others to find good cds for you. No one is gonna do it for you and even if they do it for you you end being stuck with what they think is good which I have found is typically bad.

In 1992 I wasn't really even old enough to own cds I didn't start buying cds until 1995 and I depended on my friends for recommendations which looking back were total crap (Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden and other stuff I would never actually listen to ever again).

It makes me wonder...what other cds out there could I have been jamming to for years now?

This cd goes for pennies used. Buy it.

"Palomine" is one of those albums that has never left my regular rotation since I first bought it 17 years ago. I was originally drawn to it by two particular tracks- mini-epics that evoke the majesty and grandeur of Neil Young's "Cortez the Killer". The opening "Leg" starts off slow and patient and slowly tells the tale of a frustrated lover. Lead singer Carol van Dijk's vocals ooze with pain and heartache without getting cheesy, and the band slowly builds the tension before erupting into a song ending climax. Several tracks later, "Brain Tag" creates the same musical tension, only this time the song ending eruption is one of joy and not of pain. These two tracks alone make this album essential.
Fortunately, the rest of the album contains material as strong, if not as emotionally powerful. "Tom Boy" and "Kids Allright" are straight up rockers that hold their own with any "rock" band out there. "Palomine" and "Under the Surface" are slower numbers that still have an edge thanks to Van Dijk and the always inventive guitar playing of Peter Visser. And the catchy pop of "Balentine" provides several irresistible hooks in 4 minutes and again evokes some of the pain and emotion of "Leg" and "Balentine".
While Bettie Serveert has put out several strong albums in the past 17 years, none of them have achieved the consistent heights of this debut effort. Unfortunately, they also never achieved the acclaim or reputation that this album deserves. The best of the what the 90's aimed to be- found in these 11 tracks!

Item was shipped extremely quickly, CD is in great shape. Sorry for the late review.
Thanks for the great deal and an awesome CD.