Daryll-Ann (featuring male vocalist Jelle Paulusma and guitarist Anne
Soldaat, who is a male despite the female name) debuted with
Renko (Solid, 1991), containing their first single Decibel,
still imbued with punk-rock verve,
but were revealed by two singles, later collected on the EP
Daryll-Ann (Vernon Yard, 1994):
Come Around (Hut), a country-rock ballad that soars in a
Merseybeat-ian chorus in a way that the Kinks would have loved, and the
pleasant electric ballad I Could Never Love You.
What was unique about their melodic style was the unlikely fusion of
vocal harmonies a` la Hollies and
neurotic folk a` la Neil Young.
The album Seabourne West (Vernon Yard, 1995) continued their
implosion of country-rock (Sheila) and folk-rock stereotypes
(I Could Never Love You).
They matured with
Weeps (Hut, 1996), one of the most lyrical albums of the era.
The emphasis is on the melody, from the
psych-rock singalong Tools R Us to the
gallopping synth-tinged country-rock Safe Beef,
via
the poppy blues-rock ditty Tremble Forte (a standout),
the R.E.M.-ian power-pop of Rollercoaster
and assorted revisions of vintage styles like
A Proper Line, which sounds like a hard-rock version of 1950s vocal harmonies, and
Sheeszalitch (another standout), a specimen of
Monkees-era farfisa-tinged folk-rock.
They like the romantic ballads but they could have a second career with the
gnarled noise-rock of Always Share,
the acid-rock of Ocean Drive,
and the jazzy instrumental jam Scott and Lesley.
While nothing is truly groundbreaking, the amount and variety of ideas is impressive, as if the album had been recorded by ten different bands.
Happy Traum (Excelsior, 2001) is less inspired.
The band goes pop with silly ditties like Ask Anyone and
Desmond Don't Go and keyboard-heavy arrangements that recall
Alan Parson Project, Supertramp and 10cc.
They still recorded Trailer Tales (2002), which is almost a Jelle Paulusma solo album, and Don't Stop (2004).
