Though they may have peaked very early in their career (1992's
Palomine was a very hard act to follow), that doesn't mean that
Bettie Serveert ever stopped cranking out good records. Some might even say that their 2010s output is the equal of what they did in the '90s. 2010's
Pharmacy of Love and 2013's
Oh, Mayhem! both contained tight and punchy guitar rock, quirky in spots but never far from knocking unsuspecting listeners flat with a big hook or an emotional twist. 2016's
Damaged Good is no different. The band sound sprightly and powerful, with
Peter Visser's guitar whipping up squalls of crunchy noise or laying back with finesse, the rhythm section sounding thunderous and solid as ever, and
Carol van Dijk singing the rockers with fiery energy and the ballads with sultry reserve. No one in the band sounds like they've aged a day since
Palomine, and if the album lacks a song as catchy as "Tom Boy" or "Ray Ray Rain," the mix of jumpy rockers, nocturnal ballads and lengthy guitar freakouts makes for a bracing listen. The rollicking barroom brawl of "Love Sick," features a duet between
van Dijk and
Claw Boys Claw's vocalist Peter te Bos, is a highlight, so is the album's emotional centerpiece "Whatever Happens." It has the kind of aching melody and nakedly honest vocal that caught people's ear in 1992, and if anyone cared to give the band another chance, they'd find more familiar stuff like it on
Damaged Good. Lest it sound like a retread, the band try a few new things too. The synth pop underpinnings of "Unsane" are new additions that work really well, and the swooning, end-of-the-night soul ballad with strings, "Never Be Over," shows off
van Dijk's autumnal vocals at their best and ends the album with a warm embrace. The sentiments are apt, because it seems like
Bettie Serveert's run of good-to-great albums may never end. To judge by
Damaged Good, that streak isn't in any danger at all, and anyone who wrote the band off in the '90s, or forgot about them along the way, would be well served to get back on board as soon as possible. ~ Tim Sendra