Bragolin
I Don’t Like What It Does to Me
Young and Cold Records
Dutch darkwave act Bragolin, aka Edwin van der Velde, are one those acts that have shockingly large streaming numbers that seem counter to their overall profile. While not quite at the level of say, Mareux or Molchat Doma, the songs from the project’s 2018 debut album I Saw Nothing Good So I Left are all in the millions, with “Into Those Woods” becoming something of a post-punk dancefloor staple. New album I Don’t Like What It Does to Me has van der Velde digging deeper into the ideas and sounds of the band’s most successful cuts, refining the performance and production for a bigger and broader listening experience.
The general mood and style of the LP isn’t especially different than its predecessors, with minimally arranged songs recorded to sound big and impactful, while the melodies and van der Velde’s vocals serve mopiness, but not outright despair. It’s a mode that allows things to sound dark, without ever becoming a downer; early cut “I Run and Hide” puts the emphasis on its chintzy organ hook and twangy guitar for some garage rock charm, whilst the title track sports an italo-ish synth bassline and numerous vocal adlibs that dress up its slightly goofy baritone guitar parts. The key is that the songs are generally quite fun, even when they’re vocally despairing, as exemplified on the title track, which brings in a body music type synth programming and a detuned lead that keeps things mildly sinister, but also uptempo and bouncy.
To his additional credit, van der Velde’s voice sounds even more controlled and forthright in his delivery than he has at any point in the past, which gives songs some additional heft on top of their workmanlike drum patterns and brassy instrumentation. His pleasing tenor sits comfortably in front of the mix on the excellent opener “Not All Are Real”, giving a reserved and downcast emotional accent to the track’s speedy arrangement. Alternately, on “Tar With Salt Foam” he goes more pensive and lowkey, lilting along to the muted keys and seaside samples, suggesting anxiety and melancholy. Given how energetic and gaudy some of the sounds on the record are, his composure becomes essential to keeping the emotional balance in check; “This Presence Like a Breeze” is chock full of theremin-like synths ripped from a fifties sci-fi flick, but the vocals have more than enough dignity and poise to keep it from sounding silly.
Where so many of the acts that ply this particularly European style of post-punk fail is frequently from sounding depressive to the point that the songs themselves start to drag or comically maudlin. With I Don’t Like What it Does to Me Bragolin stays shy of outright sorrow and sits nicely around gloomy, the big, easy to grab onto hooks selling the songs, while the more downcast melodies and vocals maintain the mood. It’s all quite enjoyable in that regard, a steady record from open to close from an artist who clearly gets what people like about his material, and has figured out how to serve it up consistently without repeating themselves.
