UNDER CURRENT
First released under the bands previous name Number Nine, Under Current is actually Blue Electric Sun’s debut album. The tracks were written and recorded by Gert-Jan and Boudewijn in 2000, with the help of hard hitting drummer Ton Schijvens. Under Current was recorded at Studio 336 in Voorschoten, The Netherlands, the studio of the bands current guitarist Frank van Tussenbroek.
Under Current contains 14 original songs, with a wide variety of influences. The guitar driven songs range from the introvert to the outrageous, and mainly in between.
Mix Mag Review of Under Current (2000)
Dutch duo (Gert-Jan van der Hout and Boudewijn van der Lecq, if you really need to know their names) Number Nine make no bones about admitting that their poison is ’60s rawk/pop. And they do it with a great deal of flare (sorry, flair). There’s a real vibrant energy at work here, which seems to have more than little to do with the great live feel involved when guest drummer Ton Schijvens gets his oar in. What these guys have that so many lack is a sense of the whole song, as opposed to how high their own favourite part is in the mix. Welcome relief, that. Although the 60’s ethos is out in force on some cuts, there’s a songwriting sensibility that could easily work in a contemporary context (‘I’ll Be Gone’ could nearly be Suede, and ‘John’s Dead’ nods in the general direction of Lightning Seeds). Both the guys sing on the tracks and this be their one possible failing. This music is crying for a distinct voice to carry it. Apart from that, it’s top stuff.
Verdict: Their time ain’t up