TRESPASSERS W
KINDER e.p. (10″EP)
Line-up:
Cor Gout: vocals and toys
Lukas Simonis: guitar, backing vocals
Frank van der Bos: keyboards, melodica, egg, children’s xylophone, backing vocals)
Ronnie Krepel: bass, cello, toy piano
Peter Bos: drums, acoustic guitar
Recorded and mixed by Trespassers W and Edu Hackenitz at the Vuurland Studio, Utrecht.
Art-work and sleeve by Ada Fesevur (graffity backsleeve: Cedrick & Rochus).
Inner-sleeve by Maarten a Patrick, The Masters of Holland Cutting, Soest-South.
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Reviews in English: 2___________________________________________________________________________
ALTERNATIVE PRESS #38, USA, May 1991
by MICHAEL C. MAHAN:
TRESPASSERS W – KINDER EP
The latest from the Netherlands’ Trespassers W is this quirky 20-minues vinyl-only release. Although there are only six songs on this record. TW maintains a high level of diversity by not subscribing to nay given musical style. Perhaps the only common element in their songs is their sense of humor.
Part of this EP hearkens back to the fairy tale atmosphere of early Sys Barrett and Daevid Allen’s Gong. It also features aspects of early Mothers of Inventions with some references to PiL, Roxy Music, and the Rock-in-Opposition (RIO) movement of the 70’s.
« Tenderness » presents an acoustic land of make-believe as we are gently led through the world of a child’s imagination. The eponymous « Trepassers W » mixes these fairy world sounds with 80’s garage music, and even boasts a brief RIO introduction.
« Rock Little Rochus » blends two contradictory styles and somehow hits pay-dirt. The songs starts off as a bouncy bit fluff, complete with a fifties-styled chorus. After this it progresses into a raucous mix of RIO and standard rock ‘n’ roll that fully realizes the humorous potential of such a band. The instrumental conclusion flies full tilt into the general silliness yielded by this clash of styles, ending ultimately with everyone pounding on children’s percussion toys.
The best piece on the record is « Ice Cream man, » culled from their French Cassette, AMEZ-VOUS. This guitar-board piece allows each verse to start softly and slowly, gradually working itself up into a high-cholesterol frenzy, making the beloved Good Humor Man seem downright perverse. A brilliant and witty piece that sounds like the Early Motehrs of Inventions going Punk.
More good news is that some of their material is now available through various European sources. (Bizz Spazz, 1614 1-4 Edge Cliffe, Los Angeles, CA 900296; or TW address, Netherlands)
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BUCKETFULL OF BRAINS, Summer 1991
by PHIL McMULLEN:
TRESPASSERS W – KINDER
TW Records (Netherlands 10″EP)
Trespassers W are perhaps a bit of an acquired taste, political art-punks who seem to be able to barb even the most harmless lyrics with knife-edge invective and who twist the most obvious rhythms to their own strange ends, but I find their music strangely compelling and their creator, Cor Gout, to be one of the sharpest minds in the circus. Since their last LP, an epic affair entitled ‘Potemkin’ (1989), they’ve appeared on a number of cassette compilations but this is the first real chance they’ve had to sprawl in their own inimitable way for over a year now – a year which has seen their style honer to razor-sharp perfection.
A previous double LP, the well-received ‘Dummy’, is a natural partner to this ten-inches, and not only in design (‘Kinder’, after the child-noun and not as in more-kind, features a ventriloquist’s dummy on the sleeve) for the school-day references of that album are reflected here in more innocent themes of childhood fantasy and nightmare. The songs on ‘Kinder’ are addressed to children, written about children, written for children: songs of warning and vulnerability, songs that speak of harsh reality couched in terms only someone with a child’s mind might understand – in short, songs that actually say something, even if sometimes you don’t like the way it’s said. As with all TW releases, the ‘Kinder » EP isn’t easy listening. Rewarding it is though, and probably a sound investment too if you’re that way inclined. (Trespassers W, c/o 27a Javastraat, 2585 AC The Hague, The Netherlands).