Lewsberg

One of the most successful groups to emerge from the burgeoning Dutch underground music scene” NME

“skewed, defiantly left-field indie rock” Clash

"Clear, uncluttered, minimally adorned, it works in different measures to the usual" Uncut

“Rotterdam Talking Heads/Television enthusiasts jut out with a riveting chugger of blase threat and moral ambivalence." MOJO

 Dutch four-piece Lewsberg are gearing up to release their fourth studio album, Out And About in September. Today they have shared new single 'An Ear To The Chest'. Of their new single, singer and guitarist Arie Van Vliet says: 

"As you may know, I don’t like talking about my lyrics that much. But I can explain a bit about the last four words of this song. It is a reaction on the adage “Show, don’t tell”. A classic writing technique, used by authors to make a story more interesting. To let people experience a story, rather than just read (or hear) it. But what is so good about having your ‘experience’ spelled out by someone else? Let me just tell you a story the way I prefer it: descriptive, a little detached. “Don’t show, tell ’em.”

Since forming in 2016, Lewsberg have gone from strength to strength. Despite never really considering themselves as a ‘productive band’, together they have released three LPs, one EP and a series of cassettes and 7”s including 2022’s ‘Six Hills’ which was released via Dan Carey’s Speedy Wunderground single series.

Lewsberg are named after writer and fellow Rotterdammer Robert Loesberg, famous for his dangerous novel Enige Defecten from 1974. This is one of the band’s main sources of inspiration: the counterculture and big-city cynicism of the 1960s and 1970s. Yet there is also a softer side to Lewsberg’s music and lyrics. On their upcoming album Out And About, this side is more present than ever. Rudimentary pop and rock songs are deliberately kept bare, only occasionally embellished with a violin or organ part. In the lyrics, the tendency towards existentialism and black humour is nuanced with an almost naive openness and engagement.

Recorded in Amsterdam in Spring 2023 with producer Yulya Divakova, Out And About sees founding members Shalita Dietrich (vocals, bass guitar), Michiel Klein (guitar) and Arie van Vliet (vocals, guitar, violin) joined for the first time on record by drummer and vocalist Marrit Meinema, who joined the band in the Autumn of 2021.

“Our first two records were pretty much our take on the music and literature that Arie and I had been talking about for years,” says guitarist Michiel. “Our third album, In Your Hands, was about keeping things small, quiet and intimate, partly in reaction to some of the unease we occasionally felt when Lewsberg was being lumped in with these muscular testosterone filled rock bands,” he continues. “For this album I was inspired by how I saw the personalities in the band when we became a quartet again, with the addition of Marrit,” he continues.

Out And About embraces a collaborative spirit, allowing each member to contribute their unique songwriting talents. The result is a collection of tracks that capture the band's collective creative energy and their individual perspectives. Compared to their first three albums, Out And About feels lighter, calling to mind the laid back sound of bands like The Feelies, Marine Girls and Young Marble Giants, whilst remaining distinctly Lewsberg. The album is set to be self-released everywhere (apart from North America where it will be released via 12XU) on September 15th. To mark the release, Lewsberg will be hitting the road, with live dates lined up across Europe, the UK and North America.