Low-key electronic rock has been sprouting up everywhere in the past few years, from the Pacific Northwest (like surprise U.S. hit, The Postal Service) to Germany (like genre godfathers, The Notwist). So it should come as no surprise that Antwerp, Belgium is getting in on the act, with Flemish lap-popper Dieter Sermeus, a.k.a. The Go Find.
His first solo work, 2004’s Miami, found itself on electronic pop’s biggest label, Morr Music, and now comes the follow-up, Stars on the Wall. There’s a greater variety on the new album: higher highs and lower lows.
Stars‘ opener, “Beautiful Night”, is a little more promise than delivery, but the following “Dictionary” certainly falls into the “great” category. The probable first single, “Dictionary” has a perfectly pitched build, with not only good keys and beats, but also an effective bass line, and as part of that build, Sermeus’ voice is used quite well. Other strong stand-outs include the mellow, yet haunting, “Ice Cold Ice”, whose strong backbeats and fitting voice make a track that could go on forever without melting, “25 Years”, the simple and hopeful ode to a lost childhood friend, and the catchy, even bopping “We Don’t Wanna”, that has perfect jumps between an excellent fast track and an equally excellent slow one.
The tempo jumps around on “Adrenaline”, especially fast-to-slow, but the catchy chorus bolsters it. Unfortunately, not as much on the following “Downtown”, which has the feel of rough keyboard lap-pop translation to the acoustic guitar. But the two tracks that hinder Stars are the final two: “Everything Is Low” and “Kid OK”. “Everything” is slow and vaporous; not quite as developed as it could be, it has beats that tend to thud. The first half of “Kid OK” is an alien techno keyboard, which unfortunately drags the driving second half down, a part that could have really reached out further.
The Go Find’s Stars on the Wall isn’t as multi-layered as Sermeus’ debut, Miami, but makes up for it in variety. Variety, however, is a double-edged sword: while the group of songs is more elaborate as a whole, Stars lacks some of the weight of Miami. Stars on the Wall has brilliant highs and frustrating lows, but the changes do make it an indietronic album likely to stand out from the growing, international herd.
