TT. Elzinga - Parlour Girls

TT. Elzinga writes songs with verve: they all play out as random scenes of naive escapades, clumsy liaisons and nocturnal collapses. After hearing Elzinga's first full-length Parlour Girls, the seedy feeling of being dragged through all corners of the city creeps in. Spinning on your own axis, losing yourself and then regaining yourself, to ask yourself if it was all just a dream.

Some of the stories Elzinga tells may actually have happened. Just don't ask the person in question: he'll just shrug his shoulders. Like the legendary Nick Lowe, Elzinga has the gift of being cool almost by accident: no matter how much anguish seeps through his songs, Elzinga dusts himself off imperturbably and struts on as if nothing had happened.

In terms of sound, TT. Elzinga can be called a kindred spirit of countless artists and bands, without them being identical. The mysticism of The Cairo Gang, the country-rock of Tom Petty, the sultriness of Elliott Smith and the idiosyncrasy of Pavement are just a handful of touchstones that come to mind when listening to Parlour Girls .

Flanking the established names Tim Knol, Altın Gün and Relax Head Man – the post-punk group founded by his father –, this album represents Elzinga’s first attempt at recording and writing music himself, true to the storytellers in his songs: daredevils who sometimes bite off more than they can chew. Lead single Fountains immediately caught the eye of Knol – once considered a wunderkind of the Dutch alternative scene himself – prompting him to sign Elzinga to I Love My Label, his own offshoot within the renowned Excelsior Recordings.

Life, in all its strange, peculiar twists, is ultimately love: just don't ask TT. Elzinga for directions. So it's not so strange that you keep pressing the repeat button on Parlour Girls - all the chaos, missteps and low points included.

Parlour Girls will be released on May 27th on crystal clear blue vinyl.