Barely Autumn - Day Trip to The Petting Zoo (2020)

On their eponymous debut, Brussels residents Barely Autumn still produce atmospheric autumn pieces, and decorate the tracks with maroon shades. On their second album Day Trip to the Petting Zoo, they look much more broadly at the world. To prevent them from being labeled as dreamy, slightly depressing navel-tailers, they immediately add the necessary refreshment. This can best be heard in the more electronic perspective. And believe me, this is absolutely not an attack on their firstfruits. They were rightly able to surprise everyone. This is a standing ovation for an act that decides not to take advantage of their rampant success and dares to take a big step in a new direction.

To counter the comparisons with other bands, Nico Kennes immediately cleans up in opener Alix and throws the retro vacuum cleaner through it. This gives it a pleasant shoegazer touch. To take away all doubts and convince even more, he also has the guitar soloed out of the corner. Well, clean ship! Barely Autumn confirms with their brand new second album that they do have their own sound, and are among the top of the contemporary Belgian indie scene.

Using a drum computer as a basis, they create a small, intimate atmosphere with Crucified. Wonderful how they manage to indulge themselves with a voice changer and pre-programmed tinny electronic instruments. Were used long ago because of the lack of real musicians, now it is mainly the nostalgic feeling that dominates. And it really doesn't matter whether the xylophone comes from a cabinet or whether Dirk Timmermans is actually in the studio with his trumpet. There is something menacing in it, which only benefits the whole, slowly it creeps more and more under your skin like an intruder. The deadly vocals accentuate this perfectly.

Grown knows how to mix postpunk with more accessible vocals, which gives the chilly grayness of the frame something lively, although the dynamic guitar violence of Robbe Malschaert also ensures that. In any case, that extra guitarist provides a more solid sound, even in Abortion Coffee he can fully indulge, so that they seem to be looking for more connection with the guitar-oriented indie sound from the nineties. You can certainly hear this basis in the vocals of Tinder, although that musical setting is closely connected to the heavy retro wave of Crucified.

Understated, All There Is works towards a heavenly explosion of power, which is followed up in the instrumental Out Of Love And Out Of Shape, where the serene peace is sought. I myself am not in favor of children's choirs, but how they evoke a similarly frightening sound through the sampler machine as ground meat sausage does have a nice mysterious added value. Barely Autumn has expanded the basic package with Day Trip to the Petting Zoo, and continues his crusade to win more souls. Almost autumn? In any case, by no means summer.