TESSEL are a young four piece from Utrecht in the Netherlands who I wasn’t aware of previously although my knowledge of Dutch bands probably doesn’t stretch much beyond Radar Love by Golden Earing. But I was interested to learn they had collaborated with Dutch chanteuse Amber Arcades on their latest single Cinema.
The song has a brief dreamy start before a funky then twangy beat kicks in with Levi Oostermeijer’s crystal clear vocals and a nice harmonised chorus between Amber and himself. Amber sings the second verse and her singing in her native accent almost brings back memories of Nico from the legendary Velvet Underground. The track has hints of ‘Connected’ by Elastica from the Britpop mid 1990’s heyday and also fully showcases the musical skills of Levi and the rest of TESSEL as it builds to a funky flavoured finish.
TESSEL are certainly an interesting and promising band on this initial dip into their music and would be a band I’d look out for and explore more of their content in the future.