LEWSBERG - Out And About LP

Highly recommended.

Dutch 4-piece fourth studio LP. Lewsberg are named after writer and fellow Rotterdammer Robert Loesberg, famous for his dangerous novel 'Enige Defecten' (1974). This is one of the band’s main sources of inspiration: the counterculture and big-city cynicism of the 60s and 70s. Yet there is also a softer side to Lewsberg’s music and lyrics. On Out And About, this side is more present than ever. Rudimentary pop and rock songs are deliberately kept bare, only occasionally embellished with violin or organ. In the lyrics, the tendency towards existentialism and black humour is nuanced with an almost naive openness and engagement.

Out And About embraces a collaborative spirit, allowing each member to contribute their unique songwriting talents. The result is an album that capture the band's collective creative energy and their individual perspectives. The lyrics for "A Different View" were written via a text exchange between Arie and Marrit, Arie being responsible for the first half and Marrit for the second. “It was a bit intimidating but also a very gratifying experience to write something for a band whose lyricism you have admired for quite a while,” she says.

The album also showcases the continued expansion of Lewsberg's sonic palette, with Arie van Vliet's violin playing adding a rich texture to tracks like "Going Places" and "Canines". “The violin part for ‘Canines’ had been in my head for almost a decade already, but it never translated into a song before. I’m happy Michiel found a way to make it work,” he says. “The lyrics for "Canines" were written by Shalita. I really like how they seem to be a bit more dreamlike and remote than the things I write, but at the same time are still very concrete, matter-of-fact and to the point,” he continues.

Compared to their first 3 albums, Out And About feels lighter, calling to mind the The Feelies, Marine Girls and Young Marble Giants, whilst remaining distinctly Lewsberg.