All the way from the idyllic place of Boxtel comes Engo. A band with members that have played in several great venues across Holland (Heineken Music Hall, 013, Paradiso). According to their website, Engo created a new style of music called brutepop, which is a mix of funk, pop, metal, rock. All together it results in their first EP called EPisode.
Starting with a peaceful rock intro on ´Blush & Hush´ is not what I had in mind but Engo surprises me when the song comes to its full proportions. I don’t know whether it’s the powerful vocals of the vocalist Anja Kicken or the catchy riffs that carry the song, but in the end I’m pretty overwhelmed by the sound of Engo in this track. Which is probably the same I can say about the track ´Rock Mi Style´ a funky track with some background rapping of bass player Tim van de Sande. A surprising track where Engo shows they aren’t afraid to experiment from time to time.
Since the band is constantly switching during the EP, it’s pretty hard to label them like a certain band. But that's probably just the way Engo likes it and I got to tell you it works perfectly. Not only are the songs refreshing and inspiring because there are a lot of influences present. You should check the keyboard in ´Ego´ that breathes 70s rock and consider that two tracks earlier there’s a funky bass line and background rapping to get the idea of what I mean.
Finally, it’s pretty obvious that Engo has some great potential with their so called brutepop. Something that the Dutch national radio station 3FM also noticed. It selected the group as Serious Talent. This probably gives Engo only more reason to look forward to creating new songs and probably record an album when the time is right. Until that time all I’ve got is EPisode to keep me curious.
2. Rock Mi Style
3. Spinning
4. Ego
Roel Denteneer - guitar
Tim van de Sande - bass
Wouter van der Dennen - keys
Joost Kurstjens - drums