Harlem Lake ‎– A Fool's Paradise

11-01-2022

Harlem Lake's history dates back to March 2017 when Dave Warmerdam founded the Dave Warmerdam Band. The band quickly creates a furore at festivals and clubs in the Netherlands and Belgium and wins several awards. Their debut album "A Tribute To The Masters Of The Blues" was released at the end of December 2017. In December 2019, The Dave Warmerdam Band released their strong live album "Play". A great opportunity to perform at bigger festivals and for tours to Germany and Belgium. But unfortunately the COVID-19 pandemic also threw a spanner in the works for them. No gigs but luckily time for writing new material. The idea also arises to form a 12-man band. They also decide to change the band's name to Harlem Lake, a name that refers to their roots, the Haarlemmermeerpolder. Drummer Lars Hoogland and bassist Rick van de Voort make way for resp. Benjamin Torbijn and Kjelt Ostendorf. The new Harlem Lake will make its stage debut on September 3, in front of a sold-out audience at 013 in Tilburg, as support act for Walter Trout. Harlem Lake's debut album, "A Fool's Paradise Vol. 1", was released on October 31, 2021. The opening track 'Deaf Blind' is tasty Southern blues rock. A tight rhythm section, organ, guitar and exuberant vocals. The title track 'A Fool's Paradise' is a very beautiful blues ballad, where the melodic guitar licks sometimes remind me of Pink Floyd. Solid rocking next is 'The River'. Slide, fat guitar solos, Southern rock, blues and Americana intertwined. In the soulful ballad 'Guide Me Home', Janne Timmer has another starring role with her clear vocals. 'Please Watch My Bag' is immersed in a bath of organ tones, with flaming guitar solos between the calm lyrical intermezzos. 'My Turn To Learn' starts as a boogie with beautiful vocals and finally 'explodes' with fierce guitar licks. Lyrical guitar work, powerful vocals and harmonies are there in the bluesy ballad 'I Won't Complain'. 'I Wish I Could Go Running' is once again solid blues rock with screeching guitar solos. Harlem Lake's debut album is rock solid. Great class. The future of the blues in the Netherlands is assured. Bring on Vol. 2. As the band name suggests, Harlem Lake hails from the Haarlemmermeerpolder. Under the band name Dave Warmerdam Band, the members met during their teenage years in a shared love of blues music in 2017. 4 years later they changed the band name to Harlem Lake when they reinvented themselves while writing their debut album ''A Fool's Paradise Vol. 1'', which will be released later this year. The 8 songs on it tell about how we constantly try to balance between our internal and external world. Love, longing and loss always teach us new things about ourselves and Harlem Lake manages to capture this effortlessly in recognizable, self-critical songs. While still paying tribute to the blues, they come with a fresh Southern sound inspired by artists like Joe Bonamassa, Mark Knopfler, Little Feat and Beth Hart. With their roots in blues music, the band effortlessly explores the boundaries of the ancient genre and brings a refreshing first sound on their debut album. Inspired by the Mississippi River, singer and songwriter Janne Timmer reclaims her strength in an unhealthy relationship. 'I'm not gonna teach you if you never learn' she sings after her other half loses her for the umpteenth time. The song was written in Memphis, TN, where the band represented the Netherlands at the International Blues Challenge 2020, after an evening stroll along the Ol' Man River. The female fronted blues rock band reached the semifinals and went home with many new American fans. "Undutch good," program maker Johan Derksen typifies the band Harlem Lake around keyboardist Dave Warmerdam, guitarist Sonny Ray and singer Janne Timmer. You can find anything from the Oracle from Grolloo, but the mustache does have a point here. By the way, never judge a book by it's cover, Derksen has encyclopedic knowledge about blues. Plus, Harlem Lake was Walter Trout's support act, which is possibly an even better recommendation. Well, what can you add to the blues? The genre was at the cradle of rock 'n roll, R&B and our contemporary pop music. So it doesn't have to sound different or innovative at all. Authentic, that's what we want. And that fits perfectly with the band from the Haarlemmer Meer. Voila, hence the name. The trio is assured of a solid backbone in the person of bassist Kjelt Ostendof and drummer Benjamin Torbijn. The quintet opens full throttle with the banger 'Deaf & Blind', on which singer Timmer can immediately pull out all the stops. It is followed by the ballad 'A Fool's Paradise' that calmly moves towards seven minutes without getting bored for a moment. 'The River' comes in extra hard. The hearty track is an instant classic that will stand the test of time with ease. It's a well-executed showcase of how well blues, southern rock and americana do in the mix. With 'Guide Me Home' we find the second ballad of the album. On this Timmer sounds more subdued and more fragile. If this were an audition for the Best Singers program, she would have passed immediately. With 'Please Watch My Bag' the pattern is broken hard-soft-hard. It is not a ballad, but a relatively quiet song that clocks in at almost six minutes, partly due to a number of typical blues solos that are reminiscent of the late Rory Gallagher. Via 'My Turn', which is again a successful cross-pollination of southern rock and blues, we arrive at the bluesy americana of 'I Won't Complain'. And that also applies to me, because it is absolutely no punishment to listen to this album several times for this review. Finale 'I Wish I Could Go Running' is unadulterated blues rock. The fact that the band prefers to act as a 12-piece band with horns, backing singers and extra guitars and percussion makes you long for a live performance. I am also already looking forward to the sequel to this rock-solid debut, because the addition is full. 1 naturally suggests that there is more to this young blues band.

01 - Deaf & Blind

02 - A Fool's Paradise

03 - The River

04 - Guide Me Home

05 - Please Watch My Bag

06 - My Turn To Learn

07 - I Won't Complain

08 - I Wish I Could Go Running

Janne Timmer - lead vocals

Sonny Ray van den Berg - guitars

Lars Hooogland, Kjelt Ostendorf - bass

Rick Van de Voort - drums, percussion