Two of Holland’s best bands are combined through the relationship of their front people. Out on the 10th of October on End of The Road Records.

Long Fling is a collaboration between Pip Blom, lead singer of the Dutch indie-band of the same name and Willem Smit, the frontman of Dutch indie-rock band Personal Trainer. Pip and Willem have been musicians in a relationship for ten years. Writing together would be natural and easy, yes? That it has taken this long to surface shows just how long it took for the two to adapt to each other’s working habits. Early sessions ended in arguments and the idea was shelved a few times. Thankfully, they stuck at it as the result of finding some middle ground to agree on is a fantastic album. If it is a one off then it is a wonderful piece of work. Hopefully, they can produce a second album in a shorter span of time than ten years, as this is a real treat.

The resulting album has the sensibilities of both but coalesces around drum machine loops with strong indie guitar sounds taking the lead. Fragments of orchestral instruments and synths dip in and out at times. Opening track ‘Pig’ is a great start both musically and lyrically. ‘You’re a pig and you know it, a lovely waste of time.’ If this is an insight into the relationship, it is a harsh starter! ‘Mouse House’ carries on the grooves and builds the harmonies between both.

‘Weird Piece’ goes full 90’s indie, like a hybrid of Beck and Air. It sounds fantastic, a controlled minimalism at its heart. Lead single ‘Flung’ is more experimentally playful. Smit drawling out the verses at volume while Blom’s treated vocals make for a more conventional pop chorus. It sounds like some chopped up beat boxing is in the mix, and the guitars are barely in tune, but it is a very clever track. All expenses were spared in the making of the video!

‘Cool Bottle Water Park’ is the reverse of ‘Flung’ where the verses are more conventional and the chorus has some unusually paced vocal melodies. It is infectious in getting your head nodding and your toe tapping. The vocals intertwine marvellously at times.

Every track has something going for it. ‘Waste Line’ veers towards 60’s psychedelia, ‘Shoes’ soars over a nagging guitar line.

‘Long Fling’ is a gloriously warm and enveloping album. It may have taken them a while to create a working relationship but the strength of their own away from their work fills this with memorable moments. There are great lines about the day to day stuff like getting annoyed with each other and losing your house keys. They use off beat guitar, discordance, and anti-musical approaches to create unusual harmony and groove. When they feel like it, they can also just rock out in style. This is a pure joy to listen to and is highly recommended.