{"title":"Lewsberg","description":"\u003cp\u003eLewsberg from Rotterdam is a 4-piece named after writer and fellow Rotterdam citizen Robert Loesberg, famous for his novel Enige Defecten from 1974. That is the greatest source of inspiration for the band: counterculture and big city cynicism of the 60s and 70s.\r\nLewsberg makes rudimentary repetitive rock songs characterized by nonchalant intensity. The english lyrics, brought with a Rotterdam accent, show a tendency towards existentialism and black humor.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"out-and-about","title":"Out and About","description":"\u003cp\u003eDutch four-piece Lewsberg release their fourth studio album, \u003ci\u003eOut And About\u003c\/i\u003e. Since forming in 2016, Lewsberg have gone from strength to strength. Despite never really considering themselves as a ‘productive band’, together they have released three LPs, one EP and a series of cassettes and 7''’s, including 2022’s Six Hills, which was released via Dan Carey’s Speedy Wunderground single series. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLewsberg are named after writer and fellow Rotterdammer Robert Loesberg, famous for his dangerous novel Enige Defecten from 1974. This is one of the band’s main sources of inspiration: the counterculture and big-city cynicism of the 1960s and 1970s. Yet there is also a softer side to Lewsberg’s music and lyrics. On this album \u003ci\u003eOut And About\u003c\/i\u003e, this side is more present than ever. Rudimentary pop and rock songs are deliberately kept bare, only occasionally embellished with a violin or organ part. In the lyrics, the tendency towards existentialism and black humour is nuanced with an almost naive openness and engagement. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRecorded in Amsterdam in the early spring of 2023 with producer Yulya Divakova, \u003ci\u003eOut And About\u003c\/i\u003e sees founding members Shalita Dietrich (vocals, bass guitar), Michiel Klein (guitar) and Arie van Vliet (vocals, guitar, violin) joined for the first time on record by drummer and vocalist Marrit Meinema, who joined the band in the autumn of 2021.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Our first two records were pretty much our take on the music and literature that Arie and I had been talking about for years,” says guitarist Michiel. “Our third album, In Your Hands, was about keeping things small, quiet and intimate, partly in reaction to some of the unease we occasionally felt when Lewsberg was being lumped in with these muscular testosterone filled rock bands,” he continues. “For this album I was inspired by how I saw the personalities in the band when we became a quartet again, with the addition of Marrit,” he continues.  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eOut And About\u003c\/i\u003e embraces a collaborative spirit, allowing each member to contribute their unique songwriting talents. The result is a collection of tracks that capture the band’s collective creative energy and their individual perspectives. The lyrics for A Different View were written via a text exchange between Arie and Marrit, Arie being responsible for the first half and Marrit for the second. “It was a bit intimidating but also a very gratifying experience to write something for a band whose lyricism you have admired for quite a while,” she says. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe album also showcases the continued expansion of Lewsberg’s sonic palette, with Arie van Vliet’s violin playing adding a rich texture to tracks like Going Places and Canines. “The violin part for Canines had been in my head for almost a decade already, but it never translated into a song before. I’m happy Michiel found a way to make it work,” he says. “The lyrics for Canines were written by Shalita. I really like how they seem to be a bit more dreamlike and remote than the things I write, but at the same time are still very concrete, matter-of-fact and to the point,” he continues. Dietrich also wrote the lyrics for Without A Doubt, the first single to come from the new album.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCompared to their first three albums, \u003ci\u003eOut And About\u003c\/i\u003e feels lighter, calling to mind the laid back sound of bands like The Feelies, Marine Girls and Young Marble Giants, whilst remaining distinctly Lewsberg. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lewsberg Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50393726026059,"sku":"2050597","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP","offer_id":50393726288203,"sku":"2050598","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/2ecb0e68-c96c-c507-0fec-fd7dfb14750b_ab17ab78_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726424710"},{"product_id":"six-hills","title":"Six Hills","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe 39th release in Speedy Wunderground’s singles series is from Rotterdam indie-rock stalwarts Lewsberg. Following on from the bands softer (but no less effecting) recent gem of a mini-album\u003ci\u003e In Your Hands\u003c\/i\u003e – ‘Six Hills’ harks back to classic first-album Lewsberg – conveying all the attributes that made the label fall in love with them in the first place. Motorik drums, simple immediately-catchy guitar riffs, understated production with otherworldy guitar solos – hitting all the right reference point – Velvets, Television, Jonathan Richman – wrapped up in something that is completely their own. Coupled of course with those detached, deadpan, but engaging vocals, Arie (van Vliet) sharing duties on this occasion with the band’s bass player Shalita (Dietrich). The visceral imagery of the bands writing paired with the let-loose, ragged, it-could-all-fall-apart-at-any-minute-but-it-doesn’t nature of the music makes for a completely compelling listen – and a stone-cold addition to the label’s already stellar canon of singles. Sometimes the old cliches are best: Good things come to those who wait.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Speedy Wunderground","offers":[{"title":"Black | 7\"","offer_id":50453067661643,"sku":"1143084","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/ad61dd37-f69d-44e7-9040-1bacb3b3b458_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727167497"},{"product_id":"lewsberg","title":"Lewsberg","description":"\u003cp\u003eOriginally self-released by the band in Holland and now available worldwide. Riveting chugger of blase threat and moral ambivalence for fans of Television, Talking Heads, Velvet Underground and Parquet Courts. There’s a bit of romance, a bit of heartbreak, and a bit of joyous celebration: the constituency of human nature.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lewsberg Records","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":50453130215755,"sku":"1055879","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/c6770d95-050a-4e0e-a7b3-8850b1c710b8_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727168406"},{"product_id":"in-this-house","title":"In This House","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eIn This House\u003c\/i\u003e is the second album by Rotterdam-based Lewsberg. Like their 2018 self-titled debut album, the record is released by the band themselves.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLewsberg’s latest offering seeps into your consciousness in a different way to their debut, though their tendency towards existentialism and black humour is present throughout. Harsher in sound, but more humane in spirit, the running order feels looser and less poised. \u003ci\u003eIn This House\u003c\/i\u003e refuses to let the listener settle for a single moment, making it impossible to chart a course through the album's meandering ten songs.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lewsberg Records","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50454178988363,"sku":"1086554","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50454178201931,"sku":"1086553","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/630e1d29-2267-4182-96e8-65f7916fb075_thumbnail_4096.png?v=1727181862"},{"product_id":"in-your-hands","title":"In Your Hands","description":"\u003cp\u003eSometimes change comes with big shocks, sometimes it comes with small steps. On \u003ci\u003eIn Your Hands\u003c\/i\u003e Lewsbeg’s new album a bit of both seems to be happening. \u003ci\u003eIn Your Hands\u003c\/i\u003e embodies the moment when all the bricks are there, but the wall has yet to be built. It’s a moment with perspective, a moment where everything still seems possible, but caution is advised. The album sounds both smaller and more spacious than the previous albums. Guitar chords are plucked instead of fiercely struck, the bass guitar is given more room for melodic explorations, the drum kit is dismantled to just a tom and a tambourine. There is doubt in the lyrics, but it’s a strong kind of doubt. A doubt that can stand in the way of a wrong decision, but can also invite for a good conversation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe old Lewsberg has been professionally demolished and the building blocks are on display. Ready for future applications and already finished at the same time. ‘In Your Hands’ is therefore an ode to the potential and a call to carefully give way to it.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lewsberg Records","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":50490780647755,"sku":"1146187","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50490780811595,"sku":"1146186","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/fb108c24-3626-4f05-ab97-f077d92663bc_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727674085"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/collections\/test_289b03e1_thumbnail_4096_6d93fb4e-e9b1-4043-ac34-7dd46f49fd65.jpg?v=1726424672","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/fr\/collections\/lewsberg.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}