Review Summary: Positive, vibrant and anthemic, Alles Blijft Anders once again solidifies BLØF's position as Holland's biggest band.
When BLØF reached their peak during the late 90’s/early 00’s, particularly with
Boven,
Blauwe Ruis and
Omarm, they became a definitive and integral part of Holland’s musical scene, probably the biggest modern pop/rock band in the Netherlands that still performed songs in their native tongue. In the years that followed, the quartet pursued more experimentation with their sound, working with musicians around the globe to create 2006’s
Umoja. Though it was met with continued success, a portion of the group’s fans felt they were abandoning their roots, dismissing the album as being too pretentious. A direct reaction to this were
Oktober and
April, two far more intimate, melancholic and reflective works particularly made to represent the moods of autumn and spring. Those two records, while certainly not bad and a nice change of pace, ultimately failed to capture the iconic status the band had built up during in their prime. What had made BLØF such an important act just a few years before seemed to be slowly fading away.
With their first release of the decade, the band makes a definitive statement.
Alles Blijft Anders succeeds, and very well indeed, in recapturing their former energy, without sounding forced for a single second. With its grander, sweeping rock sound, it serves rather as a counterpoint to their latest two than a means to equal their greatest achievement
Omarm. BLØF are coming out of their weakest, most silent period thus far, and are doing so with the same vigour that earned them respect nationwide in the first place. Lead single
Beter is a perfect representation of the record in that sense; positive and anthemic, with other tracks like
Wijd Open and
Iedereen sharing this quality. Part of the group’s appeal was however their consistent strength in writing both rock songs and ballads. With
We Doen Wat We Kunnen standing out in particular, the latter is once again strongly presented on their tenth album. Optimism simply radiates from
Alles Blijft Anders, and there is little doubt BLØF are completely back in business with their newest record: they haven’t sounded so fresh and familiar in some time.
