Bettie Serveert

小简介
乐团的成立可追溯回1986年﹐贝斯手Herman Bunskoeke和吉他手Peter Visser是当时另一支乐团De Artsen的团员﹐主唱Carol van Dijk当时是De Artsen的录音师﹐鼓手Berend Dubbe则处理乐团的巡回演唱事务。1991年﹐De Artsen在发表专辑"Conny Waves With A Shell"后解散。没多久乐团重组为Bettie Serveert﹐1992一月年他们首次录制完成七首歌曲的demo﹐其中一卷流传到Matador唱片公司两大老板Chris和Gerrard的桌上﹐两人不但对他们的音乐大感兴趣﹐还立刻飞到荷兰和乐团谈签约的事宜。
Matador签下 Bettie Serveert第一张专辑"Palomine"的美﹑加的发行权﹐英国与其它国家则是4AD下属的Guernica唱片公司。Carol van Dijk高昂甜美的声音﹑乐团流畅与噪音兼混的吉他风格﹐以及造型突出的封面设计让"Palomine"成为一张好评不断的专辑﹐例如当时Spin杂志便曾赞誉"Palomine"是一张「独立摇滚乐史上听起来最成熟的一张专辑」﹐在英国﹐虽然4AD的老板Ivo非常钟爱Bettie Serveert的音乐﹐甚至表明将不计任何代价留下乐团﹐但是在Bettie Serveert不满意4AD并未对乐团付出足够的宣传之后﹐结束了与4AD的宾主关系转投Beggars Banquet旗下。
1995年1月﹐Bettie Serveert发表了他们的第二张专辑"Lamprey"﹐虽然旋律上没有"Palomine"来的甜美动听﹐但整体仍然明显的表现出乐团在演奏上的进步﹐英国Melody Maker周报曾形容" Lamprey"是当年「最纠缠﹑荒凉﹑真实的吉他之声」。接下来在和Belly﹑ Dinosaur Jr.﹑Buffalo Tom﹑Superchunk﹑Come﹑和Jeff Buckley等乐团紧密的合作巡回演出造势下﹐Bettie Serveert此时的声势已攀上顶点﹐成为非主流乐界中一支重要的美声吉他乐团。
1997年初﹐Bettie Serveert蕴酿许久的第三张专辑"Dust Bunnies"终于问世﹐吉他声响再度缠绵于的旋律美丑的两极端间﹐在Lemonheads般的流畅和铿锵有力错综复杂的编制间游走﹐搭配的是主唱Carol van Dijk更具多样情感的美声表现﹐两年的等待也许是久了点﹐但是等到一张让人沉醉倾听的专辑时又有何遗憾呢?
by Steve Huey
Although they didnt cross over into the mainstream the way some of their peers did, Hollands Bettie Serveert became significant college-radio stars during the 90s with their jangly, sweetly melodic, at times surprisingly muscular guitar pop. Their sound was familiar, even archetypal, yet with its own distinct flavor that suggested any number of reference points and made exact comparisons elusive. Much of the bands reputation rested on its 1992 debut, Palomine, and even though critical opinion of their subsequent work was divided, they continued to maintain a cult audience through the decade.
Bettie Serveert were formed in Amsterdam and existed briefly in 1986 when De Artsen members Peter Visser (guitar) and Herman Bunskoeke (bass) quit their band to join up with Canadian-born vocalist Carol van Dijk, whose family moved to the Netherlands when she was a child. However, with the release of their debut album, Conny Waves With a Shell, De Artsen gained a wider audience around Holland, and with plentiful demand for their live act, Visser and Bunskoeke rejoined; meanwhile, van Dijk was hired as De Artsens new sound engineer. When De Artsen broke up again in 1990, Bettie Serveert reconvened with new drummer Berend Dubbe, a childhood friend of van Dijks and a roadie for De Artsen. Dubbe suggested the bands name, after an instruction manual by Dutch tennis star Bettie Stoeve.
Bettie Serveert recorded a seven-song demo in early 1992 that found its way to the American indie Matador, thanks to a friend of the band who worked in a specialty record shop. Matador signed them immediately and released their debut album, Palomine, later that year. Palomine received enthusiastic reviews, and the singles Tom Boy and Kids Allright landed substantial airplay on college radio, making Bettie Serveert extremely popular on the campus circuit. They launched an extensive supporting tour of America, and became genuine stars in their home country; they also helped establish Matador as Americas emerging indie label of choice, along with seminal artists like Pavement and Liz Phair.
In the wake of Palomine, Bettie Serveert spent around three years on the road, playing with artists like Belly, Dinosaur Jr., Superchunk, Buffalo Tom. When it finally came time to record the follow-up to Palomine, the band was still scrambling to craft more material; although Lamprey was generally well-reviewed upon its release in 1995 and sold decently among the groups college fan base, it proved a more erratic collection than its predecessor. Despite greater focus and a high-profile tour with Counting Crows, the same was true of 1997s Dust Bunnies, and with its faith in the group diminished, Matador dropped them from its roster. Bettie Serveert regrouped with 1998s live, all-covers venture Bettie Serveert Plays Venus in Furs and Other Velvet Underground Songs, released on the small Dutch label Brinkman. After its completion, drummer Dubbe left the band and was replaced by one-time De Artsen skinsman Reinier Veldman. The band regrouped in 2000 for Private Suit, which was acclaimed in some quarters as its strongest effort since Palomine. After its release and attendant touring, Bettie Serveert went on a hiatus that saw van Dyk forming the ragged country act Chitlin Fooks. But the band returned in March 2003 with Log 22, and again the following year with the ambitious Attagirl. [Attagirl received its US release via Minty Fresh in January 2005.]