Blof's best (with Boven a near second)
Rick Amiabel | Netherlands | 05/09/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is one of the, if not the best, album by Blof. I think the lyrics on this album (all of them written by Blof's bass player, Peter Slager) are some of the best the band has ever produced. Especially "Vrouw Op De Veranda" (Woman At The Porch), "Monsters Slapen Nooit" (Monsters Never Sleep) and "Engel Voor Een Dag" (Angel For One Day) are wonderful. You should try and find a translation somewhere! Blof is one of those Dutch bands that write music in their native tongue and actually make it sound good.
Furthermore, what makes this album great is its diversity. The band makes use of many guest musicians; besides the 'basic' line-up some songs feature string esembles (magnificently arranged on "Streep Mijn Naam Maar Weg" / Just Cross Out My Name), a pedal steel guitar, an accordeon, an English horn, and so on. This variety provides many different musical colors and moods.
I do understand why some people may feel that the album sort of dies out near the ending. This is something that happens on other Blof records as well; "Helder", for example, is way too long in my opinion. The fact is that Blof usually end their records with a 'small' and calm song, a ballad, so to speak. This takes a bit of getting used to. I do admit that the peak of the album is to be found at the center.
This album provided Blof with a string of hit singles in the Netherlands. Songs like "Hier" (Here), "Ze Is Er Niet" (She's Not Here) and particularly "Dansen Aan Zee" (Dancing At The Seaside) became massive hits. These songs stay strong despite being so well-known, but the heart of the album can be found in between these hits. "Watermakers" showcases Blof at their best so far, in my opinion. Its predecessor "Boven" is virtually just as good, however."
Has an amazing start... but then kinda dies...
Rick Amiabel | 01/24/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is the only album by this group I've ever listened to, so I can't judge it against previous efforts. The first half of the album is quite amazing, but it felt like it died after that into that low-beat mellowness I like to call BrainDead music--the kind that sort of fades into the background and nobody really hears.Overall, though, a worthy purchase. The first half of the album more than makes up for the slow second half."