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PM1: Perpetuum Mobile: “It’s Long Since You Last Did Me” — Keywords from the press
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DaMusic: a slanted eye on the dancefloor / conjuring / überrhythmics / danceable like the best of Tom Tom Club / pleasantly chaotic / intriguing, choral vocals and rhythms like Talking Heads’ ‘Remain In Light’ / a pleasantly insane surprise.
Lust for Life: tribal / tightly produced but maintaining its organic nature / some brilliant vocals / the classic Nasmak with the sound of 2024 / Clever.
Vital Weekly: Old material, new approach / nine pieces driven by pulses, beats, rhythms, and layers of vocals: ‘densemusic’ / classic Nasmak and, yet, also an updated version / motorik rhythms, heavy on the electronics and the guitar sound / sounds excellent.
Gonzo: the sound is heavier, riddled with electronics / Truus de Groot brings an element of playful sensuality
Written in Music: entirely new music / as transverse as it is danceable / the band’s own take on ‘satisfriction’ / powerful and unrelenting / fine beats and beautiful polyrhythms / traditionally rousing and conjuring / delightful polyphonic chatty vocals / stomping, urgent yet poppy dance tracks inspired by techno and new beat / tasty beats create an intriguing atmosphere, punctuated by heavy impacts / heavy cadence (My Void) / tasteful techno atmospheres with shining roles for Truus de Groot and Joop van Brakel / insistent, recognisable tightness, perhaps inspired by Front 242, Tuxedomoon and Cabaret Voltaire / fresh self-confidence and abundance of creativity / NASMAK PM will get you nodding, rocking and dancing / against the grain yet irresistible.
Make a Fuzz: strong emphasis on inventive rhythms and thus danceability / dancing in your own bubble / tribal, subcutaneous tension that usually does not come to a discharge.
Under The Radar Mag: This new record could have been made at any time / they still sound singular / the steady, machine press thud of Toon Bressers’ drumming, the emotional magnet to which much of Nasmak’s music still returns, year after year / this is a band imbued with a sense of confidence born of continual, quotidian experiment and a refusal to do anything that may compromise their core beliefs / the idea of Nasmak as a machine that swaps parts as you listen along is one that always sits high in my mind when I play their records / the restless De Groot is now back as a co-pilot and her distinctive voice giving tracks like ‘Bubbles’ and the cold sleaze of ‘Waiting For A LUCKY MAN’ an uneasy, antsy kick / playful intelligent music..
Muziscene.nl: delicious graphic work / ‘Satisfriction’: seducing and provoking, slightly quirky / in the spirit of bands like PIL, Shriekback, Consolidated / sounds from modern dance.
Het Parool: the staccato music swings in a transverse way, the vocals sound severe and the synths creak and squeak. Fine music for ‘quarter-hunting’ -for the uninitiated: that’s what the dance style full of angular movements and facing tightly to the floor was called.
OOR: Nothing indicates this is the work of a bunch of veterans / everything pops out of the speakers in a tight, swinging, explosive and brightly colored 2023 mix / maximalist-electronic approach to a contemporary genre like hyperpop, less is more principle / an almost Talking Heads-like interweaving of rhythms, sounds and choruses.
De subjectivisten.nl: playful, catchy, sometimes almost danceable and above all always surprising music / quirky and experimental cross-pollination of Yello, Wire, Talking Heads and The Residents.
PM2: Plowing Mud: “Time Is A Friend” — Keywords from the press
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GONZO CIRCUS MAGAZINE (René van Peer):
Nasmak (with the addition of PM) has truly risen! Less than six months after the first album there is already a second, ‘Plowing Mud – Time Is A Friend’. This successor is even more versatile than the first. The band makes eager use of the electronic achievements since they broke up forty years ago, while they have managed to remain true to their adventurous spirit. It is worth visiting the band’s site. Not only will you find extensive information about the songs there, for each song is a clip made, some by the Eindhoven artist Rik van lersel. It is clear that Van Brakel, Toon Bressers and Henk Janssen have made Nasmak a viable entity in its current incarnation.
VITAL WEEKLY (Frans de Waard):
The exciting thing is De Groot is also back on board on four of the seven pieces, so it alternates between male and female vocals. Still, I also sense some of the electronic sensibility of her Plus Instruments work, as shown in ‘Middle Of The Road’. Songs wit her involvement tend to be a bit quieter. Rhythm, again, is the driving force of Nasmak. Bass and drums have a strong presence here, and while the music is dense (the group refer to their music as ‘dense music’, word playing on dance and dense). They seemed to be updating some of their older songs on their previous release, but there is no such thing here. These seven pieces seem all new pieces. As I wrote previously, Nasmak’s music may not be your usual Vital Weekly thing, owning more to the world of alternative pop music, it is also still very much in spirit with post-punk; smoother, perhaps funky, no doubt, but with that great love for trying new things. As such, their attitude has stayed the same. Now, I thought: are they still jamming a lot? And if so, why not share some of those cookies and update the ‘Indecent Exposure’ series? Another look at the kitchen of Nasmak is something I’d be be curious about.
MUZISCENE (Wim du Mortier):
After the tasty re-acquaintance with the work of the co-founders of Dutch art-post-punk Nasmak PM1 Perpetuum Mobile: I’ts Long Since You Last Did Me’, the sequel is now in shops: PM2 Plowing Mud: ‘Time Is A Friend’. And anyone who then thinks ‘that’s old stuff for the fans of yesteryear, the greybeards of today who are always annoyingly in the way at concerts’ is wrong. Nasmak PM picks up old and more recent ideas, kneads and edits it, records it (Frans Hagenaars behind the buttons), and thus gives it a shape appropriate for the here and now. This again produces exciting, almost explosive moments, like not least opener Square Wheels. But also playful and relaxed as in Mood. We are not allowed to show the video for Square Wheels on our website, so head over here and pay particular attention to that beautifully graphic video work!
OOR (Erik van den Berg):
Once again wondrous, elusive pop music … furiously tight grooves of the compelling kind, but pretty much everything that shoots along behind, over and in between, including the vocals (m/f), is actually hard to place. Is it post-punk, new wave, mathrock, prog, avant-garde, electro-pop? Yes and no. it is mostly colourful, clever and timeless music that also does not betray whether it was made by young dogs or old hands. Amazing and intriguing.
LUST FOR LIFE (Peter Bruyn):
Barely six months after PM1: Perpetuum Mobile: It’s Long Since You Last Did Me, there is already a new album from the group once called Nasmak. The current name Nasmak PM stands for plusminus – there may be one more or less musician playing along for each song. PM also stands for ‘plural meanings’. And of course for ‘pop music’, but perhaps ‘post mortem’ is as appropriate. After all, it has been forty years since one of the most fascinating Dutch post-punk bands – and one of the figureheads of the polder avant-garde movement called ultra – called it quits. With Nasmak PM, the characteristically angular Dutch style of music is back. Plowing Mud differs from Perpetuum Mobile mainly in that this time no more samples from former bassist Theo van Eenbergen are used. But Truus de Groot still sings along and Nasmak PM sounds more vital in many songs than many a young pop sensation.
DE SUBJECTIVISTEN (Jan Willem Broek):
With a modest discography, the may I say legendary band Nasmak, which had a first life from 1978 to 1984, has had a huge impact on our music history. For instance, their album 4our Clicks (1982) is still sometimes regarded as the best ever homegrown album. Their cross-pollinations of new wave, post-punk, avant-garde and synth-pop thus managed to distinguish themselves from many a band. After the band broke up, individual members Joop van Brakel, Toon Bressers, Henk Janssen, Truus de Groot and Theo van Eenbergen each pursued their own musical paths. Last year, however, another sign of life appeared in the form of Nasmak P.M., where the abbreviation actually stands for “PlusMinus”, because it is not quite the group of yesteryear anymore, but also that other musicians can join.
The second in this so-called “PM series” has just been released and is titled P.M.2: Time Is A Friend, with the abbreviation in this case standing for “Plowing Mud”. The spelling of these album titles does remain a bit of a stumble, but that is also in keeping with their dynamic, unconventional, partly contrarian and above all strong music. In over 38 minutes, they perform seven tracks that unmistakably bear their mark. Apart from the hard core Joop van Brakel, Toon Bressers and Henk Janssen, the line-up here also includes the soft core Truus de Groot in four tracks and Sijbenga (It Dockumer Lokaeltsje, Deinum) in as many tracks. There are also two guests, namely singer Janet Gilbert (Three Women) and Rik van Iersel (Beukorkest, Der Junge Hund), who brings vocal samples in one track. They have again grabbed heavily from their archive shelves to forge unique music with it. Although the ingredients are not necessarily different from other works, something completely different always comes out of the tube with still a recognisable sound. And that’s clever. It is like a good kaleidoscope, which may look the same each time from the outside, but always shows a different picture with each spin. For instance, in this spin, there are some more playful and Eastern elements through and post-punk, avant-garde, synth-pop and the necessary playful experiments are also part of it again, put into modern jackets. Sometimes the dance floor, though for wobbly legs, comes into play. It produces such quirky, versatile and truly surprising music, where you discover something new every listen. There are tangents to the previous album in terms of associations, but the slight shifts make you think of ever-changing hybrids of Nomeansno, Wire, Talking Heads, Minimal Compact, Virgin Prunes, The Residents and Der Plan. In doing so, by the way, they themselves remain their biggest point of reference. Maybe I shouldn’t say it, but I really think what they showcase in this series is among their better music. I am already curious about the next parts. Perfect music, purely mesmerising, phenomenal mindblowing or pleasant medicine after all? Whatever it’s going to be, these terms are equally appropriate right now.
PM3: Play Mode: “Booby Twist To Tangled Tango” — Keywords from the press
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DE SUBJECTIVISTEN (Jan Willem Broek)
Some bands may have had a short existence, but their influence is nevertheless of immense proportions. This is certainly true of the legendary band Nasmak, who were operational from 1978 to 1984. One of those bands that danced at the edge of the abyss or raced across the alternative dance floor like slanting marchers. Elusive. Their album 4our Clicks (1982), the only one to reappear on CD in remixed form, is still considered one of the best albums of their own (and probably a touch beyond). Their mixes of new wave, post-punk, avant-garde and synth-pop didn’t really compare to other bands, rather fragments of them unfolded like a motley patchwork. The members Joop van Brakel, Toon Bressers, Henk Janssen, Truus de Groot and Theo van Eenbergen, after the group’s break-up, each went their own musical way again, too. Last year, almost 40 years later, there was a sudden restart in the form of Nasmak P.M., with the P.M. standing for ‘PlusMinus’, among other things. This is because the group is back in a depleted form, but still carries the same musical vision. ‘Post Mortem’, or “after death”, would also fit. But the abbreviation, it turns out, will mean something different with each release. The first is full-length called Perpetuum Mobile: It’s Long Since You Last Did Me (2023) and the second album, released earlier this year, Plowing Mud: Time Is Your Friend. In this so-called ‘The PM Series’, they mix archival material with new material, on the one hand stirring in the past and managing to completely connect with their earlier work but on the other hand completely modernised. Elusive.
The third in the series, they keep up the pace, is called with the P.M. addition Play Mode: Booby Twist To Tangled Tango. Already almost as much of a stumbling block as the music they always manage to put on display. In about three quarters of an hour, they serve up 10 tracks, which again go in all directions and yet in characteristic ways only fit Nasmak (P.M.). Besides the many genres mentioned, full beats come to the fore a bit more emphatically here, with the backdrop remaining mostly avant-garde . Elusive. The group consists of regular members Joop van Brakel, Toon Bressers and Henk Janssen, supported by former member and great musician Truus de Groot and more or less regular guest Peter Sijbenga (It Dockumer Lokaeltsje, Deinum). In addition, singer Janet Gilbert makes an appearance in five tracks. What is so beautiful about this playful music is that it really is in constant motion and therefore always manages to surprise; like a changing kaleidoscope. You are on the right track and then suddenly really on the wrong one again. Dancing in capital boots and going through blubbery, less fordable terrain in stiletto heels; ambivalent every time. Yet it makes sure that you are always treated, surprised, pushed away, embraced and overwhelmed at unexpected moments. Elusive. This should (yes should yes!) remind you of an ever-changing cross-pollination of Wire, Talking Heads, Minimal Compact, Virgin Prunes, Pascal Plantinga, The The and Der Plan, among others, with none of the comparisons entirely valid. They really are too, you might have guessed it, elusive for that. It really does indicate the level of international allure. An equally incredibly elusive and infectiously adventurous and catchy album!
OOR (Oscar Smit)
Since the 2023 re-release of their acclaimed album 4Our Clicks (1982), post-punk formation Nasmak has started a second life under the name Nasmak PM. Where the addition stands for Plus Minus. By this they mean that the basic line-up consists of a number of original members, supplemented with guests. Within a year they released three albums with new material, the so-called PM Series, with bassist Peter Sijbenga (It Dockumer Lokaeltsje) as a guest musician on all three. On this third part he can be heard in five tracks. Just like Truus de Groot, once active in Nasmak’s early days. Her singing brings playfulness to the tight, groovy and danceable sound. Such as in Tangled Tango, which sounds much more open than the almost industrial Mind Your Steps. Someone like Foetus is not far away from here. On the rest of the album this applies to a band like Talking Heads. Singer Joop van Brakel seems like a kind of David Byrne, especially when you see him live: at the end of 2024 the band gave two concerts in Eindhoven, where Van Brakel emerged as a theatrical, entertaining front man. Notable guest musician was fellow Eindhoven resident Richard van Kruysdijk. His bass playing lifted the music to a higher level in a Peter Hook-like manner and thanks to him Booby Twist received an even funkier treatment than on this record. Nasmak’s exciting music sounds completely current, which promises something for 2025. About time that they were booked in a large hall or at a (small) festival.
PM4: Protest Meeting: “Positively No!!!” — Keywords from the press
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OOR (Erik van den Berg)
It remains beautiful and miraculous: a Dutch veteran band (founded 1978), a benchmark in the history of national new wave and avant-garde moreover, which one day in 2028 decides to pick up the thread – or at least 1 thread – in a sort-of-original line-up and is subsequently unstoppable. After the re-release of the classic album 4our Clicks in 2023, The PM Series is launched at lightning speed, founded on old as well as new ideas, and by now we are already on episode 4.
Protest Meeting – Positively No!!! in all its unlimited stubbornness, sounds just as weird and timeless as previous editions, except that the focus now seems to be mainly on rhythm and vocals. The start and finish are two German songs – don’t ask why, with Nasmak you never ask why – that cleverly balance between maniacal, dadaistic and corny (in Abnormal, a snippet of Peter Maffay’s Du passes by at some point). In between, you marvel with great pleasure at the clever, chant-like vocals that sometimes recall This Heat (It Will Go) and then Talking Heads (Drawbridge Blues). Or about the way, in Super Tribe, they shape an incantatory minimalist Indian dance, with the vocals intriguing to say the least. Or on how compelling a 7/8 time signature can turn out (VDDV). Greats they are. And no, they are far from finished.
DE SUBJECTIVISTEN (Jan Willem Broek)
In just under 35 minutes, they perform eight tracks here that are consequently a bit more uptempo, pricklier and louder in tone. This does result in extremely catchy music, which meanders whimsically through post-punk, avant-garde, electrodance, experimental and abstract music, where some snatches of world music also pop up at times; the closing track in particular delivers a wonderfully worldly song. Although they actually have a completely unique sound in house, you have to think of a solid blend of Wire, Jello Biafra, Talking Heads, Der Plan, Yello and Virgin Prunes. And to end somewhat in their style: puffy masterpiece!
VITAL WEEKLY (Frans de Waard)
The story should be known by now. A band that was very active in the early 1980s, the media darlings of the alternative music press, reunited at the end of 2023 (minus one original member, but with the occasional addition of a member who left before they changed their name from Nasmaak to Nasmak). Since then, they recorded four CDs and played several concerts, one of which I visited and enjoyed a lot (see a previous review, Vital Weekly 1463). On this new album, eight new pieces, including two reworkings of tracks from 2002, by Dish Hunt, which included Nasmak members Toon Bressers and Joop van Brakel and Peter Sijbenga (from It Dockumer Lokaeltsje). Lyrically, this album is a protest album, because the world is going to shit, and fascism is on the rise (my words, and if you disagree, please unsubscribe), and these songs are in vein of the 1960s protest songs. I am not the lyrical man, so I’ll take Nasmak’s stance for granted, but in their music, I think I can see some of the revolutionary spirit. More than on their previous CDs (and I am only talking about Nasmak PM’s put, not the entire history of Nasmak), this new album seems to be all about rhythm, and I am thinking of tribalistic rhythms to get people moving into action, a direct appeal to the masses. Maybe I see this all the wrong way, but the rhythm is whipping people to take charge and rise. As said, I am not the man to spell out lyrics and titles may not offer a clue. Next to these rhythms and synthesisers/sequencers, we find the guitar, and it sounds spikey and rocky. In ‘Motivation March (We Go For It)’, there’s even a harmonica, true sixties style, and is a great piece, almost a hit in my untrained ears. Nasmak plays dence music – as in dense and dance. Truus de Groot plays and sings on two pieces, which in ‘Super Tribe’ go out to African beats, whereas ‘Not Me Please’ is a more straightforward dance piece. Grim as the music is, and a reflection of the sorry state of our world, this is a great CD. I loved the previous three, but this is the best out of four. There is something to miss once I am no longer a reviewer!
LUST FOR LIFE (Peter Bruyn)
Already Nasmak’s fourth PM album since its resurrection in 2023. And just to cut to the chase, this volume rivals the records the group released in the early 1980s. Back then, Nasmak was one of the showpieces of what was called “ultra” – the hyper-Dutch, angular equivalent of Germany’s Neue Welle and English groups such as Wire, Hula and Gang of Four, who were all too easily swept under the British post-punk carpet. But by now, of course, we are 45 years on. Not only does Nasmak P.M. operate within a different musical context than back then, the working method of the four over-65s is completely different. No longer together in the rehearsal room or studio, but constantly emailing and editing tracks. That makes the music on the one hand super tight, but also more sterile. At the same time, the vocals provide an organic element and over the years more and more humor creeps into that crazy hop-step-jump music.
PM5: Perfect Match: “Dense!” – Keywords from the press
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DE SUBJECTIVISTEN (Jan Willem Broek)
The music they perform consists of archive material that they still had lying around, mixed with new work and the occasional remix, which means it ties in perfectly with their earlier music, albeit with a certain contemporary urgency. Perpetuum Mobile – It’s Long Since You Did Me (2023), Plowing Mud – Time Is A Friend (2024), Play Mode – Booby Twist To Tangled Tango (2024) and, earlier this year, Protest Meeting – Positivily NO!!! have already been released.
Now part 5 of the P.M. series has been released, entitled Perfect Match – Dense!, with the subtitle “Live At P.O,M. Eindhoven. And indeed, this is a live recording” of the performances they gave on 23 and 24 November last year. The line-up consisted of Joop van Brakel (vocals, samples), Toon Bressers (percussion), Truus de Groot (vocals, electronics) and Richard van Kruysdijk (keyboards, bass, electronics, visuals) from Strange Attractor, Sonar Lodge, Phallus Dei, Palais Ideal and Music For Speakers, among others. The latter provides a nice electronic impulse. They perform a cross-section of their P.M. series plus (minus) some older work and, as is often the case, different versions of certain songs. If you are hearing the band for the first time, you would not expect to find artists aged 60 or 70 plus behind it. From the outset, Nasmak has essentially been immersed in a realm of eternal youth and creativity. Their dynamic and innovative character is perhaps even more evident in their live performances than on their studio albums, although these are also of exceptional quality. Think of a contemporary interpretation of the music of bands such as Wire, Talking Heads, Der Plan, Yello, The Ex, Minny Pops, T.C. Matic, P.I.L. and Virgin Prunes. It’s all rock solid. In just over an hour, they serve up 14 tracks that are groundbreaking and of an incredible standard. Yes, and beautiful and compelling too!
Written in Music (Edwin Hofman):
Since 2023, there has been an interesting series of releases from the acclaimed Nasmak under the name Nasmak P.M. This addition to the name – Plus Minus – allows the band to collaborate with kindred spirits under the same name. It is also an expression of respect for Theo van Eenbergen, who is no longer a member of the collective. As before, when Nasmak was active in the 1980s, the band strives to touch the listener in both mind and body. The keyword is “satisfriction”: infectious, often danceable music that can also be abrasive and uncomfortable. Nasmak P.M. is particularly productive and captures all its activities in a pleasant, informative website. Nasmak’s forward-looking approach naturally lent itself well to unpredictable live concerts, where the intention was certainly not to dutifully reproduce the album versions and thus rely on old material. That is why it was high time for the band to release a live album. That album is now here. It is album number five in The PM Series. The title: Perfect Match – Dense!
In November 2024, the band performed at Paviljoen Ongehoorde Muziek (P.O.M.) in Eindhoven and made recordings. The line-up: Joop van Brakel (vocals and samples), Toon Bressers (percussion), Truus de Groot (vocals and electronics) and Richard van Kruysdijk (keyboards, bass, electronics, visuals). Truly a powerful line-up, with “newcomer” Van Kruysdijk clearly giving Nasmak new impetus. The band sounds solid and robust, while retaining its artistic playfulness and still encouraging movement. Dense! characterises the music: tightly woven and layered, but inciting dance.
The fourteen tracks on this intense live recording include recent tracks as well as new interpretations of older work from the period 1979-2024. The newer work shows that Nasmak P.M. is full of energy and inspiration. Unmistakably Nasmak, but full of new blood and renewed energy: Unter der Fahne, with its slightly agitated German spoken vocals over a machine-like monster beat, is a good example of this. The same goes for New Rituals, a powerful, more melodic track that rivals Front 242, with a touch of Tuxedomoon. Joop van Brakel is still the vocalist who gives the music just the right, inescapable twist, as on the heavy Square Wheels and the techno track What I Like About You (Booby Twist). Truus de Groot is, of course, the other vocalist. Also very active on Dutch stages outside of Nasmak P.M., she carries a large part of the repetitive Can’t Go Back. And against a noisy backdrop, over deep bass lines, her performance on Like Bonnie & Clyde is free and almost careless. As mentioned, Dense! also harks back to the rich past of Nasmak and Truus de Groot’s Plus Instruments. Among others, Take a Look from 4our Clicks 1982 makes an appearance, as does Dance with Me from Plus Instruments, both in a characteristic, more robust version.
The LP Nasmak Plus Instruments / Instruments Plus Nasmak, which was so well received in 1980, also makes a comeback, including the fresh, Kraftwerkian remake of So and the tight but also dreamy, hypnotic Notions. Whereas they used to sing about magazines, television, radios and newspapers, now it’s: “I’m not here I’m not here / I’m somewhere else / Got me magazines TV / Got me Instagram and TikTok”. In the early 1980s, Nasmak also released a series of cassettes under the name Indecent Exposure. This allowed the band to really let loose, resulting in dozens of tracks. The song Vital Virus vs the Rubber Bubble brings parts of that series, from 1981, back into the spotlight. It is a powerful track full of underlying tension, with a determined Van Brakel at the helm: “The shit is on my shoe” and “The motion has frozen / A hard rubber bubble / Means mental obstruction”.
Given the five Nasmak P.M. releases in recent years, that mental obstruction no longer seems to be a major factor. And this live CD, Dense!, is powerful proof of that. It is the perfect exclamation mark after two years of unrelenting creativity and drive.
OOR (Erik van den Berg):
The continuing saga of Nasmak – you know, the band that released 4our Clicks, the Best Record Ever Made in the Netherlands, in 1982 – has seen two more modest episodes in recent weeks. Since these veterans launched their brand-new album series The PM Series at the end of 2023, right after the vinyl reissue of 4our Clicks, based on old and new musical ideas, they have been unstoppable. The 50th anniversary of the Gigant stage in Apeldoorn added to the excitement with the release of a vinyl record featuring live recordings of both Nasmaak (the original version of the group, with singer Truus de Groot) and the later Nasmak.
These were incomparable greats, because Nasmaak – as we hear here too – was a jumpy new wave band that actually still leaned on “traditional” rock (we even spot a guitar solo!) and was therefore quietly booked as the support act for Golden Earring or Gruppo Sportivo at the time. Although the restless stubbornness was already well established in 1978. Nasmak in 1982 was a different story: a four-piece powerhouse that made hermetically grooving math rock avant la lettre. The Live Gigant recordings, audibly stemming from a grey past, give a good impression of their approach, but if you really want to be blown away, just put on 4our Clicks again. Or, if necessary, Perfect Match – Dense!, part 5 of The PM Series, also with live recordings, but from November 2024.
Truus de Groot was back on board at P.O.M. in Eindhoven, multi-instrumentalist Richard van Kruysdijk provided extra punch, and two core members (Joop van Brakel and Toon Bressers) left their unmistakable Nasmak mark. Today, that stands for compelling electronic-based industrial dance, bursting with creativity in lyrics, music, samples and visuals. A clever and timeless hybrid, which somewhere halfway through the album – around New Rituals and So – actually reaches ritual heights. The saga continues.
VITAL WEEKLY
(Frans de Waard)
One of the reasons I don’t mind reviewing an advance copy of ‘Perfect Match Dense’ by Nasmak PM is that it contains recordings from last year (2024) in their hometown, Eindhoven. When I reviewed ‘Booby Twist To Tangled Tango’ in Vital Weekly 1463, I said I saw their concert just days before, and I wrote, “the best concert of this year. That says nothing, as I rarely attend concerts and certainly never pop music shows. I saw pop music and even travelled out of town for this.” So, you can imagine my joy to see it released. That weekend, Nasmak PM played multiple times in the same place, and the recordings are mixed in some way that we have the ideal copy, as Wire would say. That weekend, the group consisted of four: Joop van Brakel, Toon Bressers, Truus de Groot, and Richard van Kruysdijk. Drums, samples, bass, and vocals, and very heavy on the dense/dance element that I have come to know Nasmak PM for. They played songs from their previous four albums (one was released that weekend), as well as some older ones, such as the Plus Instruments song ‘Special Agreement’, in three different versions. You may know Plus Instruments equals Truus de Groot, who left Nasmak in its first incarnation in the early 1980s. Now, vocal duties are divided between Truus and Joop van Brakel, which further enhances the open character of the music. This is some very upbeat music, even in its more reflective moments, and music that puts me in a good mood. The motorik drive of the music certainly has a healthy effect on me. Let’s dense!