Bettie Serveert
Country of origin:
The Netherlands
Type of music generally:
Alternative rock, moody pop
Status:
Most recent release, ...Plays Venus in Furs and other Velvet Underground songs (live, re-release with 4 extra tracks, 2019); most recent release of new material, Damaged Good (2016)
See also:
Bettie Serveert's site
Comparisons:
Throwing Muses, Belly, Yo La Tengo
Covers/own material:
Own
General comments:
i just had one of those find a new group experiences. i had heard one song by them, but after checking out palomine and lamprey, i must say i am very impressed. a bit more noise and harsher voices than i often listen to, but very good to kick back and reflect to. i guess i would put them in the throwing muses/belly category, if that helps, but they have their own distinct sound. (clsriram@phoenix.Princeton.EDU)my current drug of choice. why haven't i fallen in love with them earlier? i started listening to them after i heard their song on Rare on Air vol. 2 and of course i already had palomine but never listened to it. fool. (iflin@speakeasy.net)
Bettie Serveert burst into the indie scene in 92, with Palomine. Combining heartbreaking vulnerability and wide open innocence with rocking-out numbers, almost 70s-like guitar solos and jangly and somewhat low-fi production, they fit with indie-pop crowd like Fuzzy, perhaps Belly and Juliana Hatfield... lamprey followed in 95. Released by Matador (Palomine came out on Guernica, offshot of 4AD), it was still good, but didn't break any new ground. Which was OK by me—if they found their sound, why should they change it? But with Dust Bunnies in 97 even I had to admit they appeared stuck. Long silence, and probably a period of soul-searching followed (as well as the usual label difficulties, I imagine), but if the song I just heard [Private Suit-era] is any indication they found something new to say. I'm looking forward to this new album with excitement I didn't think I could muster after Dust Bunnies... (afries@zip.com.au)
i liked bettie serveert records enough to keep buying them, but it took a live show to convince me that their chops & song-arrangement abilities were close to on par with yo la tengo (one of the very high watermarks for me as far as indie rock goes.) (dmw@mwmw.com)
Comments about live performance:
headliners bettie serveert just stunned me. the velvet underground covers set from last year did a long way in my mind to elevate them above the mass of pretty-good indie bands, but last night's set showed a level of ensemble playing on par with the likes of yo la tengo. lead guitarist peter visser doesn't favor pure noise like yo la's kaplan does, but the band shows a similar facility with dynamics and a tendency to stretch out on some very tasty instrumental breaks. (9/99)
they're *really* good live. some of the best ensemble playing i've seen from an indie-rock act. (8/00, dmw@mwmw.com)
Recommended first album:
either Palomine or lamprey (Neile)
Recordings:
- Palomine (1992)
- lamprey (1995)
- Dust Bunnies (1997)
- ...Plays Venus in Furs and other Velvet Underground songs (live, 1998)
- Private Suit (2000)
- Log 22 (2003)
- Attagirl (2005)
- Bare Stripped Naked (CD/DVD, 2006)
- Pharmacy of Love (2010)
- Oh, Mayhem! (2013)
- Damaged Good (2016)
- ...Plays Venus in Furs and other Velvet Underground songs (live, re-release with 4 extra tracks, 2019)
Palomine
Release info:
1992—Matador/Atlantic (U.S.)—OLE-046-2, Brinkman Records (Benelux), 4AD/Guernica/Beggars Banquet (U.K.)
Availability:
wide
Ecto priority:
High for those who love alternative pop and moody rock
Group members:
Peter Wisser—guitar
Berend Dubbe—drums
Herman Bunskoeke—bass
Carol van Dijk—guitar, vocal
Comments:
A great album to lift your spirits. Bears close and repeated listenings. Carol van Dijk's smokey, scratchy, sometimes harsh voice is unusual but effective. (Neile)
lamprey
Release info:
1995—Matador/Atlantic—92504-2 (U.S.), Brinkman Records (Benelux), 4AD/Guernica/Beggars Banquet (U.K.)
Availability:
wide
Ecto priority:
High for those who love alternative pop and moody rock
Group members:
Peter Wisser—guitar
Berend Dubbe—drums
Herman Bunskoeke—bass
Carol van Dijk—guitar, vocal
Comments:
As good an album as their first. I tend to forget about this disc and rediscover it frequently with great delight. You'd think I would remember it's this good. (Neile)Wonderful, light, fun music with just the right spin of off-kilter sensibility. (cinnamon@one.net)
Dust Bunnies
Release info:
1997—Matador/Capitol (U.S.)—CDP 7243 8 55227 2 7
Availability:
Wide in U.S.
Ecto priority:
Recommended if you like the other albums
Group members:
Herman Bunskoeke—bass
Carol van Dijk—guitar, vocal
Berend Dubbe—drums
Peter Visser—guitar
Produced by:
Bryce Goggin
Comments:
I loved their first two albums, and this one was just a disappointment to me—it didn't seem as interesting and catchy as the previous two. (Neile)I've only listened to this a couple of times, and I certainly don't think it is as good as their last effort, Lamprey. Not a bad album, but I didn't find it to be especially compelling either. Of course, Lamprey took quite a while to grow on me, so I may end up deciding I like this cd quite a bit. (mcurry@io.com)
The world's best college rock band goes power pop. (beckwith@ime.net)
Venus in Furs
Release info:
1998—Brinkman Recordings
Availability:
Hard to find
Ecto priority:
Recommended
Group members:
Herman Bunskoeke—bass
Carol van Dijk—guitar, vocal
Berend Dubbe—drums
Peter Visser—guitar
Comments:
A live album of all velvet underground covers, that, in my opinion is well worth the effort to seek out. (dmw@mwmw.com)
Private Suit
Release info:
2000—Hidden Agenda
Availability:
Wide
Ecto priority:
Recommended for Bettie Serveert fans
Group members:
Carol van Dijk—vocals, guitar, marimba, piano, hammond
Peter Visser—guitar, synth, organ, marimba, piano, vibraphone, backing vocals
Herman Bunskoeke—bass, keyboard, piano, backing vocals
Reinier Veldman—drums, octopad
Guest artists:
John Parish—organ, tambourine, rhodes, congas, dobro, piano, marimba
Buni Lenski—violin
Simon Lenski—cello
Pascal Deweze—piano, backing vocals
Allan Muller—synth, backing vocals
Bart Vincent—backing vocals
Rachim Fakir—dub-sub
Produced by:
John Parish
Comments:
A fairly mellow pop album for Bettie Serveert, and despite Carol Van Dyk's lovely vocals it's just not quite as compelling as their other efforts, at least to my ears. It's no surprise that my favourite track here is "ReCall," which is probably the rockiest and most distinctive tune on the album. (Neile)not as exciting as i had hoped it was going to be. (iflin@speakeasy.net)
Log 22
Release info:
2003—Hidden Agenda
Availability:
Wide
Ecto priority:
Recommended
Group members:
Carol Van Dyk—vocals, various instruments
Peter Visser—various instruments
Herman Bunskoeke—bass
Jeroen Blankert—drums
Guest artists:
Pascal Deweze—vocals
Yvonne Van Der Pol—strings
Benjamin Boutreur—saxophone
Sam Vloemans—trumpet
Stefaan Blancke—trombone
Stoffel Verlackt—piano, vibraphone, bass, drums, percussion
Produced by:
Peter Visser
Comments:
it's quite enjoyable and fun. i like it. it doesn't feel like it's got as much of a consistent "hard edge" to it as did dust bunnies. more fun instrumental experiments, less consistency from song to song (in a good way). the last track is a rather disco-ey tune which can be annoying, but the rest of it is really good. and even the last track is kinda cute in the right mood. (damon)this may be their best album yet, but has not gotten much (if any) attention on Ecto. to me, it seems a bit more mature and ambitious without losing any of the giddy energy of their past work. some great songwriting, and a broader palette of sounds than usual. it's one of my favorite albums of the year. (bossert@suddensound.com)
Further info:
Their music is included on various soundtracks including Amateur, and on various compilations, including Everything is Nice: The Matador Records 10th Anniversary Anthology.
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