Losse Flodders?

1974 was obviously a good year for Nitsfans, the album “1974” was received a lot less enthusiastically by many of them though, who all seem to share the opinion that it consists mostly of – to say it with a somewhat pejorative Dutch expression – “losse flodders”, usually referring to loose, ragged or sloppy pieces of clothing or loose ammunition, in the case of ”1974”, carelessly crafted music, drifting aimlessly, and somewhat messy or of a sketched unfinishedness. I am, however, of a different opinion. I just think that Nits don’t feel like polishing the silver at every grand occasion that is the making of a new album… Their albums are often conceived and recorded in very different ways; Nits can make good music any which way they set their minds to it… When Nits get behind their instruments they always are inventive, clever and intelligent. They almost never make music without meaning. And they don’t think in clichés; they muse freely. A smoothly polished, perfect popsong could never be their sole aim. I like musicians who can turn their instruments into bringers of wisdom. And that is exactly what Nits do on “Chain of Ifs”, the percussive piano song that reminds me of Bruce Hornsby’s playing of the piano on “The Way it is”, a stubborn, determined piano that is always repeating itself, which is just so relevant for the title of this song; the drama of what is and the emptiness of what was not, perfectly rendered in a musically visionary phrase of genius; and it reveals a pattern that often returns on this album, a sort of scheme that was not appreciated very much by many followers of the band. The words “jam sessions” have often been used to describe this album and I see what is meant by it, but “1974” is so much more than these two words suggest. In many of the songs the focus is on a sort of pulsating drive, always pushing forward, repeating itself. The most obvious example on the album is of course “Eifersucht” (or “Canigo” maybe), a favourite of mine. It is music that always returns to itself, falls back on itself, the eternal return of the same. I like that in music. It is very powerful, I think. It is pure musical rhythm and energy, bare but essential, unembellished, unpolished, somewhat raw. It is funny and dramatic at the same time. And it makes me think of dark-skinned sultans in colourful clothes and orange turbans, playing with snakes. The circular, relentless, fated rhythm brings forth that kind of archetypical images, patterns of rhythm leading to patterns of thoughts and images. I like the lyrics too: anything goes, complete randomness in a circle of ever returning movements, moments, feelings, things… It reminds me a bit of rap, just rhythm and words mostly, energy. Now I must admit I like rap, I really do. There is something so basic about it, about rhythm, so essential. Rhythm can instil in me a very powerful feeling of wisdom which is hard to explain; it is of course the way the world goes, the way nature, our bodies drift on the recurring waves of time. And the combination of words with a pulsating, throbbing rhythm is deeply rooted in our traditions of expressing emotions or relating stories. I have always felt that Rob is a very “wise” drummer, his accents in the music and the way he inserts rhythm in a sometimes very peculiar and surprising manner into Nitssongs are just unmatched in popmusic. Percussion is again an important actor in this music performance, but so is the piano. “Espresso Girl” boasts some absolutely wonderful piano play on caffeine and silk by Robert Jan. Again, energy and lightness, audacity, verve, buoyancy and gusto. A keenness to step outside of a neatly organised and regulated little world as in “Rumspringa”. And the live versions of the “1974” album are even better and even more vital, with several escapades to the Beatles universe: the end of Rumspringa on the DVD Nits released, so beautifully flows into a reverent bow to the Masters’ “Strawberry Fields forever”, you just have to watch the DVD for this moment only, “Let me take you down…”, just a few seconds that tell the history of pop. Playful and ingenious at the same time, as Nits so often are. There are other breathtaking moments on this DVD of the “1974” tour, but since many years now, whenever I think of that recording, I always say to myself that the most beautiful note of the whole concert is played by Robert Jan somewhere in the beginning of the song “Boy in a tree”… not from the discussed album of course, but, well…, you all know the song…!

“1974” is also a heartfelt expression of a delicate longing for the past. The songs “Espresso Girl”, “Aquarium”, and “Athens” float in a beautiful melancholy of places, people and little things, the melancholy that shows itself through the remembering of small, almost insignificant details that we hold on to. The lines “My face in the mirror of Hotel Krafft; Behind me the boats on the Rhine in Bâle…” are of such a deep melancholy that hides in the prosody and the timbre of Henk’s voice that the music almost disappears into oblivion, you just hear the rhythm which is softly, indiscriminately continued and repeated, and the piano that whispers its riverlike melody… How can you not love this album for such simple, sublime moments? What an elegant troubadour Henk is! And yet, these moments are never sentimental. This album has always made me feel a bit awkward; there is an atmosphere of distance in it, it has the coldness of indifference and fear haunting it – as in the ending of “Rumspringa”. “1974” remembers, but its nostalgia is of the rational, poised, cool and collected kind. It is of a serious sweetness as in Athens when it rains. The memories we cherish, we fear that they would turn into ruins…one day… “I’m laughing through the years”… As always the thoughts and feelings in this Nits album are so well balanced, nuanced and complex; the music sometimes pulsating with the impatience and urgency of an unfinished life – unfinished music – fuelled by the drive of a curiosity that is still burning for the future, sometimes simply flowing on the melancholy of a past gone by. At the heart of Nits music there is always reflection.

To accompany these thoughts, I chose the video of “Espresso Girl”. Raw, sweet, dramatic, tender. For the brewing, simmering passion. For the full, round taste of the piano… And for the unique lyrical phrasing which opens up a world of unadulterated memories, bitter and sweet… ”Greetings girl (and boy) and welcome to my world of phrase” (De La Soul).

Joke Roelandt, August 2019