The Rommelmarkt feel that Bottelaars en Beesten has is given weight by the fact that this LP is a compilation of tracks that somehow have fallen by the wayside or have been overlooked for other releases.
The Rommelmarkt feel that Bottelaars en Beesten has is given weight by the fact that this LP is a compilation of tracks that somehow have fallen by the wayside or have been overlooked for other releases.
I like Niek Hilkmann, one of the lads behind Yoshimi. I like his impish humour and jack-in-a-box character on stage. I wrote recently about his band, stating that with Yoshimi were a sort of modern day, Dutch hybrid of the Bonzo Dog Doodah band. Whilst you won’t hear much of that on this record, they definitely have a troubadour element to the sounds on display here: and they are certainly comfortable knocking out nonsense songs or things that would be considered eccentric by the straight laced. Take one of the last tacks on here, namely Doe de Krab, which is a long drawn out, and very breathless mini soap opera about life, love and all the other stuff, at turns a comic turn then a dramatic soliloquy, then a good old fashioned campfire singsong.
The Rommelmarkt feel that Bottelaars en Beesten has is given weight by the fact that this LP is a compilation of tracks that somehow have fallen by the wayside or have been overlooked for other releases. We start with the pots and pans pop of Johnny Johnny Johnny (Ain’t Dead) and the daft clattering busk that is Grey. Yoshimi always have something of the street musician in their sound anyway and their main weapon is the way they put together a sound that sounds like it’s collated from found objects. The whimsical, off the cuff nature of this record is always to the fore; we get a funny reworking of the melody from Blondie’s Rapture in Hey Hey and we even get a take on the Devil’s Spawn that is Dire Straights’ Walk Of Life; albeit sounding like they’ve recorded it in a subway. As such, a vast improvement on the original. Even though, in essence, it’s still crap. Another cover which is a better listen is No Way Around That – a take on Wim T Schippers song, a mournful ditty, but attractive nonetheless.
They do have some cracking pop songs, the dreamy Girls in Hot Weather sounds like prime time Camper Van Beethoven and Crazy to You is also maddeningly catchy. Highlight is Altijd Wat (En Dat Is Dat) which is a glittery Dinger-esque stomp, charmingly underpowered and a direct, kissing cousin of Dronken Mensen by Deze.
A great release. Worth your time and attention.