Van Den Bear – No Plan Survives First Contact (EP – Van Den Bear)
Genre/Influences: Post-Punk, Pop-Rock.
Format: Digital, Vinyl.
Background/Info: Van Den Bear is a Belgian project driven by Antoine van den Berg. “No Plan Survives First Contact” is the third EP by the artist which was already released at the end of 2022.
Content: Van Den Bear takes off with solid Post-Punk driven music featuring dynamic drums and sexy, deep, singing vocals. Quite progressively the work evolves into a mix of Pop and Rock while the last part sounds more dreamy and getting closer to Cinematic music. The music is mainly driven by guitar and achieved with synth arrangements. You’ll also notice female backing vocals.
+ + + : Antoine van den Berg has a captivating, sexy, timbre of voice which is for sure one of the main strengths of the production. The opening song “Fade To Black” is a great piece of powerful Post-Punk and the absolute highlight. I also enjoy the way other songs mix power and reverie. The heavier last cut “Spectacles” is another great piece of music.
– – – : The Pop-Rock and Cinematic influences inject diversity but the main strength of this EP clearly emerges at the harder Post-Punk debut. This could be the way to move on with.
Conclusion: Van Den Bear is an interesting project for the fusion between different influences.
Best songs: “Fade To Black”, “Spectacles”, “A Conversation With A Twist”.
Rate: 7½.
Artist: www.facebook.com/vandenbearmusic
About Van Den Bear
Van Den Bear is a dark pop and post-rock project from Brussels, Belgium, led by Antoine van den Berg on guitar, vocals, writing, arranging and production. The band formed in 2017 and cites The National, Radiohead and TV on the Radio among its influences. Early releases include the EPs “Songs for a Future Vacation” and “Somewhere the Trains Are on Time”. The single “A Conversation with a Twist” preceded the “No Plan Survives First Contact” EP, recorded with producer Reinhard Vanbergen, known for his work with dEUS, Girls in Hawaii, Das Pop and School Is Cool, and released at the end of 2022.
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