ERIC ROSENFELD - 529

9 songs
29:47 minutes
***** ***
Winged Skull

Bandpage

Communicaution always seemed to me a bit like good songwriting suffering from the eternal quails of singer/songwriter music. Eric Rosenfeld, who rose to astonishing heights with his power pop band Versus You, therefore made a wise choice by recruiting Couchgrass drummer Dirk and Holy National Victims guitarist Charel (here on bass and keyboards) for these sessions, dropping the pseudoname and releasing his new CD under his own name. The lyrics may be even more personal than in the past, but the music has a pleasant band feeling that at times comes very close to his band Versus You, although 529 has shedded all punk notions, and the frequent organs give it a more rootsy atmosphere.

529 is a half hour long EP, and works perfectly, leaves the listener even a little disappointed at the end, because the fun is already over. The acoustic guitar is this time integrated into a warm band sound, and the use of electric guitar is no rarity either. It’s a pleasure to hear drummer Dirk play on a real rock album, and Charel seems to get his kicks out of old fashioned organ sounds. Eric sounds like he always does, a bit nasal, beaten down, frowning, the local beat poet who loves to quote Kerouac and even samples an ancient Woody Allen movie on the last song of the album.

Those who have never heard Versus You and love American style indie college rock will probably think that 529 is one of the coolest albums they have come across in a long time, but with This Is A Sinking having come out only a few months earlier, it becomes obvious that a little more time between the two outputs would have benefited a more varied songwriting. This becomes especially clear between the two respective singles, Bus Stop on 529 and Versus You’s Hotel Room.

Eric Rosenfeld can still pride himself in having released another good rock album which owes a lot to his influences (Jawbreaker, Jets To Brazil, Weezer,…) but also establishes him as the best because most convincing singer/songwriter from Luxembourg. If you like Versus You, there should be no way past this album.