Bettie Serveert go acoustic
Bettie Serveert
Bare Stripped Naked
(Minty Fresh)
Still toiling 14 years after creative peak *Palomine, Bettie Serveert scale down and go acoustic.
Bare Stripped Naked isn’t quite as literal as the title sounds because ghosts materialize out of guitarist Peter Visser’s humbuckers, though it does find the Dutch quartet acquiescing to their “O.C.” fate. Singer Carol Van Dijk remains the focal point of these 12 cuts (with one alternate take and four older songs, including “Brain-Tag”), her coy lyrical twists less preeningly indie rock and more seasoned singer-songwriter. “Hell = Other People” is transfixing via plainspokenness, while “Storm” edges standard-issue, clean-tone BS until a single-key piano climax evokes Coldplay’s dynamics. Still instantly familiar, the organics free Bettie Serveert from their self-imposed time freeze.
— Steve Forstneger
