So this is my first post on the blog and I thought I’d use it to introduce a band that I’ve been in love with since my friend introduced me to their music last spring. They are called Balthazar, they’re a five piece from Gent in Belgium and they make addictive, bass-driven pop music.
Over the past few years they’ve gathered over 19000 likes on facebook and cemented a strong fanbase in Europe, playing sold out shows and festivals all over the continent and ending the year with a huge sold out tour during which they supported the giants of Belgian rock music, DEUS. Their debut album Applause came out back in 2010 and they’ve been touring it ever since. Its a great album full of catchy songs that find a way to stay in your head. Listen to ‘Wire’, listen to ‘The Boatman’, listen to ‘Hunger At The Door’, listen to ‘Morning’, listen to all of them! Perhaps the most magnificent song on the album though is ‘Blood Like Wine’, the album’s closer. It’s a feel good and poignant song, building up to a magnificent chorus that repeats the words “Raise your glass to the nighttime and the ways to choose your mood and have it replaced”. Live, Balthazar are really impressive and their sound is hit home by a really fat bass sound. Today they announced that they’re laying the last touches onto their second album before it’s sent to Noah Georgeson (a member of Devendra Banhart’s band and the man behind the Stroke’s last album Angles) for mixing. I for one am therefore very excited and it’s going to be great to hear what they come out with next.
Discover Balthazar: Official // Myspace // Facebook
By Thomas Clarke
Dance Yrself Clean
