CATCHING UP WITH THE NITS

You know how it is, when you experience something so wonderful andsublime, you just need to tell the world about it? Well, since I can't tellthe world, I can at least post it to a group of people who may get somethingout of it.
I've just picked up the newest CD by Nits, a group from the Netherlandswho—in my opinion—bear more than a passing relation to the LegendaryPink Dots. For over 20 years they've been releasing a steady stream ofalbums, each one different from the last, and each one worthwhile in its ownway. When you pick up a Nits album, you never know what you're going tohear. While some of the tracks are invariably throw-aways, most of themare brilliant, heart-wrenching, sweet and catchy.
Here's how I see it: if you take the curious poetry of Edward Ka-Spel andLeonard Cohen, the varied instrumentation of the Dots, pass it through asort of "Minimalism Filter," add the painful sincerity of The Red HousePainters, throw in influences from all over the world and a big heaping messof The Beatles and you get something approaching Nits.
Their newest album, "Wool," follows up "Alankomaat" as ashockingly melancholy and wistful CD. Most of the tracks are slow, jazzypieces (aided by the ZAPP! String Quartet and The Stylus Horns). HenkHofstede's lyrics are, as usual, oblique and observational, but—inkeeping with the recent trends in his music—almost crushingly sad anduncertain. A singer named Leona Philippo sings backup on most of the songs,and I hope that she becomes a permanent Nits member. She swings betweensoulful vocals and a kind of angelic, crystalline sadness. Arwen & Laetitiaare wonderful additions to the group, Arwen's bass helping the noir-jazzsound along.
There are moments of atypical Nits experimentation here as well: the odd,timestretched vocal bridge in "26 A (Clouds In The Sky)," the weird whisperypercussion of "The 'Darling' Stone," the analog "space" noises throughout"Seven Green Parrots," and the absolute croaky weirdness of "Frog," the onlyupbeat track on the CD (reminiscent of the earlier Nits track, "Orange,"which helped to defuse the sad loneliness of another album).
I'm not saying that everybody who likes the Pink Dots is going to likeNits—far from it, probably. But if you see "Wool" at a listening stationsomewhere, or you can convince your record store to play it for you, give"Clouds In The Sky," "Crime & Punishment" or "Strawberry Girl" achance...but beware. While buying up releases by Nits is not nearly soarduous as buying up LPDs, it's still quite a chore, and, in my opinion,equally necessary for my mental health.
And if you're flirted with Nits over the years and haven't decidedwhetherto buy this new one or not, I can't gush enough about how this is myfavourite Nits album so far (excluding the double-live "Urk," maybe).It's cohesive, perfectly &clearly produced, and every song is essential. Not to mention thepackagingis a work of art. Quite an accomplisment for a band known for theirpackaging. Nits website is at www.nits.nl.