Maggie Brown vocalist and guitar player Marcel Hulst goes solo on his new project Mountaineer. The seeds for his debut album 1974 were sown when he started demoing songs, playing his acoustic guitar at Solenoid Studio in Amsterdam. Studio owner Auke van der Wielen got up from is mixing desk to add keys and guitar. A few of Hulst's friends dropped by to help out and the sketches slowly evolved into carefully layered songs. Hulst's soft spoken delivery is on a par with fellow Dutch acts I am Oak and No Ninja Am I.
1974 is a great blend of indie, folk and Americana, a prime example of soft music that doesn't need to be played loud to make its mark. Highlights: the use of double tracked vocals adding urgency to the message of in Canada, the early Floyd-alike pastoral artificial light and the melancholic dirge all your armies.
Mountaineer:
Marcel Hulst: guitar, vocals
Guest musicians:
Auke van der Wielen: synths, beats, percussion, guitar
Daan de Bruyne: upright bass
Floor Stevens: additional drums
Randy Kerkhof: lapsteel
1974 is released thru Off Amsterdam (vinyl CD, digital). Buy it from his website. Release date: March 21.
Tracks:- submarine
- nineteenseventyfour
- in Canada
- Kowloon
- black sea
- artificial light
- river
- all your armies
- coda
- mountaineer
- 02/12 Pakhuis Wilhelmina, Amsterdam
- 03/16 live @ Radio Mortal
- 03/21 De Nieuwe Anita (album release party), Amsterdam
- 04/03 live @ Radio Harderwijk
- 04/06 Pobparade Breda, Breda
- 04/20 Zaal 100, Amsterdam
- 04/25 Concerto in-store, Amsterdam (15.00)
HCTF review of Maggie Brown.