Narc. Magazine Online
Reliably informed
Damian Robinson discovers an emotive album of gently cynical sounds from the indie pop band
Bella Union
Released: 04.09.26
Image by Sophie Koterus Korting
For the past decade, Willem Smit’s Personal Trainer have been a relentless force of indie pop thanks to their dedication to touring and music output.
Following up to the successful Still Willing, Smit and co return with Human Assholes an album filled with 15 tracks aimed straight at the 1995-2005 period made up of post-slacker, slightly-cynical/slightly-humorous alternative sounds (think Paul Westerberg, Pete Yorn, Semisonic and Lemonheads/Evan Dando).
At their most optimistic (Punch Drunk Love, The Burrows) the album sounds warm, soft and gentle – acoustic pop moments wrapped in light strings, gentle drums and tinkling pianos. At their most cynical (Object Permeance, Human Assholes) the guitars kick harder, the lyrics are a little more pointed and Smit’s voice is a little deeper and broken.
As an album, Human Assholes feels a little elongated, and two or three songs too long, but at the heart lies some seriously emotive moments from a songwriter trying constantly not to let us see the tears behind the smile.
