PHOTO: SIMON GODLEY
Visceral Dutch post-punks deliver their winding melodies to the East Midlands.
It is often difficult to wade through the plethora of new music on offer nowadays, with everything seemingly a sensory overload to the ears – it’s hard to find that gem embedded deep within the bedrock of saturation. Thankfully, it seems that there is this overwhelming sense that Real Farmer are that very gem.
Broiled from Groningen in Netherlands, the Dutch Nieuw-punk rockers of Real Farmer have caught many an eye in the business (including Doherty’s label Strap Originals), and for good reason. Jarring soundscapes and ominous melodies make up a multifaceted display of vigour – and often times, vulnerability – that gives any punk on the British Islands a good run for their money. As active members of their own vibrant local music scene with their frighteningly infectious underground gleam, Real Farmer’s debut album Compare What’s There finds them at their best: wiry, present and fatal.
From outward head honcho The Straightest Line leading the pack, to Inner City, an equally-fulfilled blockbuster of fiery proportions; it sets the bar high for the freshest finds in post-punk. With the punk sanctity of the United Kingdom to conquer, they set about planning six UK headline shows. Having dusted down from Oxford’s The Library Pub and wrapped up at Bristol’s Exchange, they were headed up north to the Midlands.
And next up was Nottingham.
The ex-fruit and vegetable warehouse turned DIY music and arts space has played homage to some of the most daring acts over the years. This week, we saw another few join JT Soar‘s esteemed roster.
Local stalwarts Paste kicked things off, while Stuart Pearce were full of substance with their skittish offloading of social contempt, as they dove into fresh works from their EP this year, Nuclear Football.
Before too long however, it was time for a one-to-one tutorial in how the Dutch approach punk.Like those before them, punk is best delivered in a performers’ natural habitat: live on stage. Real Farmer are certainly no different. Social commentary and diatribe to the rich are commonplace in punk music, but Real Farmer have a real edge to their game.
Unbound by mania, lead singer Jeroen Klootsema twists and connives in both pent-up frustration and poetic justice, all the while conscious not to spill a drop of his Red Stripe in hand, as it plays both prop and tonic. Drummer Leon Harms is much like the polders that reside on Dutch waters, a flurry of outlandish beats propelled by two arms seemingly out of control to its owner. Guitarist/vocalist Peter van der Ploeg measures out frenetic guitar strikes while bassist/vocalist Marrit Meinema delivers the sturdy heartbeat with driving basslines. They play into new tracks from their debut like I Can’t Run, as well as older cuts like Nostalgia from their self-titled EP in 2019.
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