photo: Philine van den Hul
Dutch retro-pop duo Donna Blue have been working towards the release of their first full-length Dark Roses since 2018. After three EPs the time was right to go for the album format, a medium that has room for all their influences and allowing them to let their signature sound do most of the talking.
Danique van Kesteren and Bart van Dalen are old school story tellers, or more accurately sketch artists, using words to provide snapsots of dreams, love, loss and loneliness. By taking turns at the microphone as the lead vocalist as well in English and French they can choice for a different mood for each song.
Doomed love songs are their forte and they obviously love the soundtracks of Italian and French movies from the '60s and '70s. Case in point: A Lover In Disguise, wherein the guitar conjures up images of a deserted, sun-beaten village in the middle of nowhere. Vintage French yé-yé pop is dusted off and updated for Solitaire - two lovers find themselves at sea in a small boat that isn't designed to handle the storm that is coming straight at them - and Rouge. They mastered the art of the stage whisper and their spot-on Ry Cooder-inspired guitar flourishes are like the tumbleweeds acting as the harbingers for a showdown.
Dark Roses is released via Snowstar Records (vinyl, CD, digital).
Tracks:- The Beginning
- The Idea
- A Lover In Disguise
- Dark Roses
- Forever
- Waking Up From A Dream
- Cup Of Time
- Solitaire
- Rouge
- Carousel
- Reprise
- 05/17 Melkweg, Amsterdam
- 05/18 Paard, Den Haag
- 05/19 Hedon, Zwolle
- 05/26 Mezz, Breda
- 05/27 Ekko, Utrecht
- 05/29 Patronaat, Haarlem
- 06/02 Luxor Live, Arnhem
- 06/05 Rotown, Rotterdam
- 09/16 Franz Ulrich, Kassel
- 09/17 Schokoladen, Berlin
- 09/18 Gdanska, Oberhausen
- 09/20 Kulturclub Schon Schön , Mainz
- 09/21 MUZclub, Nuremberg
- 09/22 Heppel & Ettlich, Munich
- 09/23 Manufaktur Schorndorf
- 09/24 Reeperbahn Festival, Hamburg
- 09/25 Kinett Schalander Kusel
- 09/27 FZW, Dortmund
- 09/28 KOHI-Kulturraum, Karlsruhe
