Douglas Firs

Douglas Firs is a Ghent group around singer-songwriter Gertjan van Hellemont, with shrewd musicians in its ranks who earned their stripes with bands such as Balthazar and Admiral Freebee.

Hinges of Luck sings grippingly about the drizzly melancholy of the ever-lost battle with the clock. That sounds poignant and soothing at the same time,” writes the Belgian Indiestyle. The cover features a beautiful rainbow with a police car at the end. It characterizes the duality of the third album that heralds a new musical chapter for Douglas Firs. Still the mix of heartbreaking melancholy and raw roots rock, but the sound has shifted a few planets. The love songs such as Pretty Legs & Things to Do or Caroline from the first two albums are supplemented here with dreamy synths, sultry electronics and noise. The hinges of fortune creak and creak. But without friction there is no shine and if the pot of gold is found after all, the reward is all the greater.