On paper it is a bizarre combination. Rock hard stoner rock with poetic Dutch lyrics. As if Queens of the Stone Age were playing with Spinvis behind the microphone. Yet that is the best description of the sound of the Amsterdam band Het Universumpje, on their new, second album Still life with animal tamer. The songs have names like ‘I Live in a Cannonball’, ‘The Randomness of the Alphabet’ and ‘The Navel Not Included’ and they rock just as hard as they are catchy. ‘Voodoo’ in particular stands out, a galloping song with a nicely pissed off lyric (“What you didn’t know is that I practice voodoo”) that lingers for a very long time.
“I have also heard ‘Spinvis on speed’,” says Jacob van de Water, writer and frontman of Het Universumpje. “I understand that comparison very well. I did indeed watch Queens of the Stone Age, and I found Spinvis’s lyrics, especially on his first album, very fresh. In addition, Soundgarden’s later work has been a major influence. That is so special in terms of twists, harmonies and melodies, and also has that combination of aggression and catchiness.”
The Universe has been around for a long time. In 2015 they released their first album The Limits of the Permissible out, with a guest appearance by Bob Fosko. That Still life with animal tamer was only released nine years later, mainly has to do with the agendas of the band members. Van de Water is a producer and composer and worked with Eefje de Visser (he produced her albums It is and Night light), Alex Ploeg and Charlot, and made music for commercials and TV programs. Guitarist Merijn van de Wijdeven played with Eefje de Visser, Benjamin Herman and Typhoon, and drummer Nicky Hustinx played with Tim Knol, Weval and Wende, while keyboardist David Hoogerheide is in Froukje’s band and also plays with Wende.
“That is the disadvantage of good musicians; they are often busy with other projects,” Van de Water explains the time between the first and second albums. “And just when we wanted to release this album, the corona pandemic happened. After that I felt a little tired, but fortunately Cornelis de Jong (who partly mixed the album) recently pulled my coat and said: ‘When is that album coming out? It’s too good to let rot on a shelf!’”
He lives in a cannonball
The ripping guitars and the smart lyrics bordering on absurdism do not fight for attention at Het Universumpje, but give each other space. For example, the hard rocking sound curtain in opener ‘I live in a Cannonball’ opens itself briefly, and Van de Water sings things like “I live in a cannonball / Whistling I fly towards the house where you live / It’s warm there and I’m comfortable there”. And in the dynamic ‘Gewoon’ he sings: “They want to know what the song is about/ if I make the mistakes on purpose/ but I’m just” – and then the sound of a cuckoo clock. What is that about? “It’s funny that you ask about it and that I’m going to answer it now, because it refers to the tendency to want clarity about what a work of art means. Apparently there needs to be an explanation, preferably short and concise, while I actually like art with a double meaning that has a greater impact on your imagination and can inspire you for a longer time. I think it’s a shame to simplify, that’s what it’s about.”
His lyrics are often a bit over the top: “I like to make the lyrics a bit pretentious on purpose. You have usually already covered the subject of a song after one verse, but then you still have to fill in the entire rest of the song and then you quickly start forcing things. I noticed that in myself and decided to take advantage of it by wording things even more artificially.”
Then there is that band name, which is a bit misleading. Is that also the intention? “It is precisely because that diminutive is in such a contrast with our loud music that it fits so well. And misleading people is a hobby of ours, so that’s convenient!”
The Little Universe plays 8/5 in Cinetol, Amsterdam and 25/5 at the Sniester festival, The Hague.
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