Heideroosjes

Holland’s best kept secret, Heideroosjes have written a solid and cohesive record with rousing sing-alongs and hard-hitting riffs that dominate the 40-minute duration, and if nothing else, credit must be given for the band not losing a bit of intensity towards the end when some of the songs seem to run a bit together.

One-trick-pony or not, that one trick stays relatively solid throughout, and if diversity in a punk album isn’t at the top of your list of priorities, there’s no reason the shouts of "Call us what you want, united scum! / Can’t bring us down, untitled scum!" won’t have you singing along with them. Ridiculous as those lyrics are, nothing Shakespearean is to be expected from this type of act, so it suits them just fine.

More important than the lyrics though, are the basis of the songs, because that’s where the band is really able to show what they can do. As previously mentioned, I’d be remiss to say it’s groundbreaking, but the tunes they carry are fluid and full of vigor. Even during the slower moments, like during “Sinema,” where only a quick drum beat and some low-tuned guitar move the song along, you can feel the energy in the record just waiting to explode. “We’re All Fucked Up” begins slowly, but the rousing, albeit simplistic chorus, takes it up a few notches and it never comes back down. Representative of much of the songs to be found, the momentum is slow to build, but unstoppable when it really gets moving.

And maybe, that’s a problem too.

While that momentum does provide some truly invigorating moments, it also provides a sense of complacency. Once the band gets moving, they don’t do much at all to tinker with the formula, instead opting to rattle off song after song in the exact same vein as the one before it. The band's gift is their curse.

Regardless of a few miscues, Heideroosjes have overall delivered a whopping 16 tracks of scrappy punk rock, and for some that will be more than enough to satisfy.