Avery Plains: Signed J.C.

Dutch rock band Avery Plains are in for the long haul with Signed J.C., the A-side from their new 10". With a running time nearly 13 minutes they have ample opportunity to explore the depths of psychedelic and noise rock. In a day and age where intros are a frowned upon by the streaming algorithms is quite refreshing to hear a band taking its time to lay the foundations for a song that tells a story through both words and music.

B-side One Dead Family is totally different: a catchy tune, firmly rooted in garage rock leanings, with a few well-placed dissonants on top of rumbling back beat that can switch seamlessly between different tempos to allow the guitars to do their howling bits. Bass players will appreciate the short vocals-and-bass only interlude.

Avery Plains​/​Whipster Split 7": "A Song Of My Own Rising" b/w "A Perpetual Longing"

Two Dutch bands from the Groningen underground joined forces for a split 7". Avery Plains and Whipster share the same singer, Jurgen Veenstra, but they cater to different niches. Avery Plains picked A Song Of My Own Rising, a New Wave song a la Echo and the Bunnymen, while Whipster's A Perpetual Longing is darker and throws in some dissonants and feedback while they were at it. A double A-side that can eve trboth bands as a business card for their sound and also a gateway to explore their discographies.

Avery Plains: soOn

Dutch rock band Avery Plains started as a kind of big pand, a septet with four guitarists. Now down to a quartet they have tightened up their sound for their new album soOn, going for a blend of New Wave, noise rock, post-punk and even a bit of prog in the title track. The band members honed their chops in the bands of the Groningen underground scene, mainly through playing in that city's leading rock club Vera.

soOn is dark and foreboding, reaching out to disgruntled teens and seasoned fans of gritty, distorted sounds. By contrast the vocals are quite melodic, almost tender at times and the ensuing tension that is created by these two worlds make it an album that requires undivided attention to fully appreciate. Persist and it becomes truly captivating in the end. Recommended if you like Hüsker Dü and Sonic Youth, but the uninitiated should start with the album's closing track, the acoustic History Of Failure, a tune that could be mistaken for a long lost unplugged session outtake.