„IN THIS WAY, THEY PROVIDE A BITTERSWEET SOUND THAT BRINGS THE DARK SIDES OF LIFE TO LIGHT WITHOUT LOSING SIGHT OF THE BEAUTIFUL.“ – DIFFUS MAGAZIN
INFO
ARTIST
DRENS
RELEASE DATE
20.05.2022
CATALOGUE NO.
GRCD/LP/DIGITAL 1072
TRACKLIST
HOLY DEMON
NO NEED TO HIDE
BLOODY KNEES
HONEY
STEALING ALL THE AIR
RECORD STORE
CHOOSE YOU LOSE
YOU HAVE I HAVE
IT SUCKS 🙁
YOU CAN’T BEAT ME IN MY DREAMS
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Story
It is a late summer evening in Dortmund’s Nordstadt district, the first cool threads are already woven into the warm air, heralding the arrival of autumn. Passersby stroll through the streets, looking for a pub or a snack, and pay no attention to the four young men sitting on a beer table set in front of a kiosk. Open bottles, crown corks with ashtray residue, puddles on the wood varnish: it’s a good evening, informal and cheerful.
Or better: it could be a good evening. For dark clouds circle above the four heads, spirals of thought from which no way out is found: In the case of one, it is the fear of conflict, which is resolved over and over again with an escape, his gaze sweeps the parked car that could take him away at any time. On the other hand, the knowledge that a decision has to be made now in this deadlocked relationship, in which one has made oneself comfortable, but now standstill has taken hold. All those little evil thoughts that you can’t get rid of, that you sleep with over and over again, that you feed, nurture, worship and adore. Holy Demons.
„Holy Demon“ is the name of the first studio album of the Drens, the very young men who met there in front of the kiosk and summoned their demons. On the 10 songs they are in dispute with their own abysses, with the big ones, with the small ones, „I know that this won’t ever come true/ Felt first like glitter then so bitter couldn’t hold on to you/ I just hold on to my holy demon/ And I can’t resist this toxic feeling“, all little devils that are hard to get rid of, that express themselves in toxic behaviors, in the fight with oneself. Only as a vague memory do the carefree times of the football fields and bloody knees lie back, torn pants, high from the junk grass from the street corner, above them the scorching sun, but at peace with the world, „Our dreams were small/ Only needed a ball/ Because time was our highest good„. Instead, it goes steeply upward, but the abyss gapes ever more dizzyingly beside the path to the top, „For so long I missed/ To see the hole I fell in love with.“
Drens know what they are talking about: Their debut EP „Pet Peeves“ brought the band sold-out shows and festival summers, even in the shitty year 2020 they were able to play via stream at Eurosonic in Groningen, the German Netflix success production „How To Sell Drugs Online (Fast)“ used a song as soundtrack. And even if „Holy Demon“ deals with the fine hairline cracks in private, the band’s sound sounds big and massive, the fuzzy surf and garage sound of the first releases have been given a big helping of alternative rock, so that the album sounds like a combative mood of departure, the demons are laughed defiantly in the face. Producer Sebastian „Zebo“ Adam, who already developed the iconic sound of „Schick Schock“ for Bilderbuch, is also responsible for this update. This collaboration creates a beguiling effect on Drens‘ debut album between the darkly iridescent lyrics and the powerful pop appeal of the music. And so „Holy Demon“ is a moment for the ages, a photo from that evening in front of the flickering kiosk signs, from the most exciting moment of a young band: a last look into the past, but the feet already in a moving, big future.