Spinvis, the project of Dutch songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Erik De Jong,
who used to play in punk band Blitzkrieg (later renamed The Duds) and in Hi-Jinx,
debuted with Spinvis (2002), when De Jong was already 41.
Despite sounding like a professional recording, it was recorded in his attic.
Despite his punk past, DeJong is a fan of moronic pop muzak and devotes
half of the album to
lo-fi synth-pop ballads like Bagagedrager
the orchestral, Burt Bacharach-esque Voor ik Vergeet
and the languid, Electric Light Orchestra-ian Herfst en Nieuwegein.
The folkish Ronnie Gaat Naar Huis and the Sheryl Crow-esque shuffle In de Staat van Narcose are more in line
with the traditional format of singer-songwriters.
A rocking guitar riff surfaces in Astronaut to slightly liven up the
moribund flow of the songs.
Nieuwegein aan Zee (2003) contains live music and leftovers.
Dagen van Gras Dagen van Stro/ Days of Grass Days of Straw (2005)
contains
Het Voordeel van Video/ The Advantage of Video and
Ik wil Alleen Maar Zwemmen/ I just Want to Swim but inevitably
cannot match the variety of the first album (composed over a number of years).
Goochelaars & Geesten (2007) collects rarities and leftovers.
Ja (2006) and
Ritmebox (2008) are cycles of lieder based on poems by Dutch poet Simon Vinkenoog.
Some of his most original music could be found on singles, like the
tribal dadaistic fanfare
Holleeder de binnenwereld (2008) and
the moribund piano litany
Bericht van de binnenkant (2009).
Tot Ziens Justine Keller (2011) contains
the single Kom Terug.
The singles of the time include
Clair obscur (2012), a rare venture into garage-rock,
and
the lounge ballad
B-kantje (2012).
Trein Vuur Dageraad (2017), perhaps his melodic apex, contains the
martial Hallo Maandag and the spirited
Artis (two of his catchiest creations),
the gentle lullaby Van De Bruid En De Zee,
the lyrical and moving Tienduizend Zwaluwen,
He can't resist to include
a romantic ballad like De Kleine Symfonie but
Alles Is revisits the genre with the pomp of a requiem.
Folkish numbers like the seven-minute Trein Vuur Dageraad coexist with
dance-pop meditations like the seven-minute Stefan En Lisette.
Clearly, the album is littered with countless echoes of melodic music of the last 50 years, from
Leonard Cohen to
Magnetic Fields, from
Don McLean to
Apples In Stereo,
but nonetheless they are well packaged, an elegant display of instrumental and vocal simplicity.
The majestic synth-pop elegy
Immortelle C appeared on a 2017 compilation.
The single Je kan alles (2018) is one of his most creative songs, a
dadaistic techno rigmarole.
The single Napels (2018) is instead another moronic lounge ballad.
The Sonic Youth-esque single De Dag dat Richard Krajicek Wimbledon Won/ The Day Richard Krajicek Won Wimbledon (2020) was unusually experimental.
Thanks to the covid pandemic, 7.6.9.6. (2020) was an album similar to
his debut album: recorded at home.
The highlights are Parel (a 2019 single), which sounds like a religious hymn, and Picasso.
DeJong kept surprising his fan base with
the three-song EP Sunon (2021), which contains the pulsing,
Velvet Underground-esque
Tingeltangel Hersenpan (with a quote from
Gene Vincent's Be-Bop-A-Lula)
and the seven-minute instrumental prog-rock jam Sunon.
