There’s a bunch of Dutch bands that have become regulars on my headphones these days. Without looking, POM, Dutch Mustard and Tape Toy come to mind, and now add Mood Bored to the list. Maybe coincidence, maybe there’xrs an Amsterdam sound right now. If that’s the case, Mattan Records is owning it, home to all but Dutch Mustard.
Mood Bored released their second EP Too Much? last Friday — it’s only four tracks, but it’s catchy, melodic and memorable—grunge-tinged hooks paired with late-night anxiety.
I first heard the trio when the melancholy, grungy and reverb-soaked “Wet Faced & Ugly” was featured on The Line of Best Fit at the end of January, and I included it on the Friday Setlist that week. It’s got a 90s Radiohead vibe to it, all reverb and resigned despair:
The four tracks on Too Much? set broader boundaries than the band’s 2023 EP Bored – Mood Bored a more mature band, musically and thematically. It’s darker and moodier, with a more sophisticated edge to the production. “All the Time” incorporates cynical and frustrated lyrics (“Don’t you wanna break / All the time”) with distortion and vocal effects to build a psychedelia-influenced sound that’s definitely a fresh twist for the band:
Singer Myrte Driesenaar sheds the breathy dreampop haze for a bolder, commanding persona on the new record. “Wake Up With You” (at the top) is built around a swirling, dreamy vocal sample, with a driving guitar that sounds like it is the highlight of a live show.
They’ve opened for big names, including Wolf Alice and Nation of Language, and have earned a reputation for putting on a great live set. The Netherlands could fuel a killer rock fest on its own. Too bad I’m six time zones away.
EDIT: new studio performance posted on Feb 28:
