CARRERA – FreakyDeakyDutch

Once in a while you hear an album that reminds you that music falls into the category of ENTERTAINMENT! Carrera’s FreakyDeakyDutch is most definitely one of these albums. The album is a hybrid, eclectic mix of Georgia Satellites, The Offspring, Blink 182, and Bowling For Soup, with some good old Status Quo 12 bar, 3 chord riffage thrown in for good measure — that’s about as close as you’re going to get to describing their musical style.

Listening to their songs, you get the distinct impression that their inspirations are gleaned from the guys’ own life experiences, especially some of their experiences gained touring their native Netherlands and around Europe. These experiences include: the joys of the dressing room (“Dressing Room”); the confusion over The Netherlands three other names (“Freaky Deaky Dutch”); the annoyance of having to do a job yourself when you get let down by other people (“Spam”); the embarrassment of having the hope of bumping some uglies kicked in the teeth because of your stinky feet (“Sox”), and, the scourge of the technical age — mobile phones (“S.M.S.”). Paying homage to beer drinking, cars and ‘Laddish Behaviour’, the album includes a cover of “Eastbound And Down”, from one of the top ten ‘Frat Flicks’ — Smokey And The Bandit .

Carrera are: Johan Perk on guitar and vocals, Bas de Geest on drums and backing vocals, and Frank Roemer on bass guitar and backing vocals. You can tell by listening to their music that these guys just live to play and are at their happiest on stage, in the studio, or just jamming along while creating new songs. Their music has an air of easy structured simplicity … the band seems to play effortlessly. This, however, is an illusion that can only be achieved with hard work, musical ability, practice, and must be performed with dedication and professionalism — something these guys have in spades.

Johan Perk’s vocals throughout the album have that “smoke 60 a day, gargle with bleach and barbed wire” kind of roughness that this style of music demands. Bas de Geest’s and Frank Roemer’s backing vocals compliment and harmonize in all the right places in just the right way. Being a three piece, Carrera concentrate their guitars and drums towards the rhythm of the songs, however, Johan masterfully entwines the role of lead and rhythm guitar with some well-crafted technical licks, riffs, and the infrequent solo. Frank’s bassing rumbles along, keeping the timing precise with bursts of random bass widdling (just making sure you remember he’s there), and Bas’s drumming is of metronomic quality and, again, he throws occasional sporadic bursts of individuality into the mix.

Not only are the band excellent musicians, they are quite shrewd businessmen as well, embracing the Internet to market their wares via a vast amount of on-line music stores. You can find details about purchasing Carrera albums and merchandise on their website. Some bands get endorsed by guitar, drum, and amp brands — Carrera have managed to break out of musical equipment endorsement deals and are sponsored by an Internet Service Provider, Von Zipper Eyewear, and Nike Skateboarding.

As mentioned, FreakyDeakyDutch is an album you want to listen to when you want to be entertained … something that you listen to when you’ve had a bad day, or are in a crappy mood. If FreakyDeakyDutch doesn’t get you rocking in the living room, bedroom, bathroom — you must just be a grumpy old fart by nature. FreakyDeakyDutch manages to emit the fun and enjoyment the band had when making it, and if they can do that through a piece of silvered plastic, what kind of atmosphere can they create live? Listen to FreakyDeakyDutch a few times, and you might find yourself checking the music press to find out if they’re coming to play in your area anytime soon.

Tracklist

1. “Back To Normal”
2. “Freaky Deaky Dutch”
3. “Dressing Room”
4. “Vanity”
5. “Spam”
6. “Lady Kay”
7. “Eastbound And Down”
8. “Motor Show”
9. “Clockwork Toy”
10. “Sox”
11. “Witness”
12. “Als Ik Boven Op De Dom Kom”
13. “S.M.S.”