ALBUM REVIEWS: Artisans & Merchants – The Van Pelt

For a lot of us, waiting over a year for music from your favourite artist can feel like a lifetime; the anticipation of hearing something new is just too much and you would love it be presented to you in the fastest way possible. Now imagine having to wait 25 years. That’s how long fans of New York indie band THE VAN PELT, have been waiting and, granted, they did release two albums in 2014, but it wasn’t new music. One was a re-release of songs from EPs put out in the 90s and the other a live performance. But now a proper new studio album is finally here in the form of Artisans & Merchants; was it worth the wait?

In short, yes. The album’s opening track We Gotta Leave starts things off on a relaxing note. With strong drum beats and a chill guitar style, reminiscent of THE 1975’s You, it’s a pleasant listening experience that leaves you feeling zen. And even with a sudden shift in tone where things speed up and the vocals switch into a spoken word verse, that calmness remains.

That’s an ongoing theme on this record; it’s laidback and leaves you feeling at ease, not in a way that has you losing interest or focus, but in a way that keeps you hypnotised. That’s not to say that this album can’t be fun and upbeat as heard in Image Of Health, an alt-rock focused, upbeat track that feels inspired by 70s dance-punk. Other examples include the title track, which is reminiscent of THE STRANGLERS with its punk elements, Old Souls, which has influence from grunge, and recent single Grid, which uses elements from psychedelic rock and ties them together nicely with a spoken word verse.

Also among the album’s standout moments are two tracks that offer a unique twist on the band’s sound: Cold Coconuts has an intro that sounds like they’re genuinely playing with coconuts to create a funky pop beat, while closer Love Is Brutal is a seven-minute-long track, (which either falls into the ‘amazing’ or ‘drags on’ categories for most bands with no in between), and takes the form of a gentle song that has an ethereal vibe to it, making that whole seven minutes a peaceful experience.

Artisans & Merchants, in a word or two, is simply lovely and relaxing. Yet throughout you’re constantly engaged and despite the calmness THE VAN PELT do focus a lot on elements from genres which one would consider the opposite of calm: punk, alt-rock and psychedelic rock. It’s just a lovely listening experience all round.

Rating: 8/10

Artisans & Merchants is out now via Spartan Records (North America), La Castanya (Europe/World), and Gringo (UK).

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