THE GO FIND – Everybody Knows It’s Gonna Happen Only Not Tonight
Morr Music
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The third album by Belgian electronica wiz Dieter Sermeus Everybody Knows It’s Gonna Happen Only Not Tonight can seem a little underwhelming at first with its after dark minimal feel. However, that what makes it so special as Sermeus is a master at utilising time and space. Those who are initially underwhelmed will only need to give it another one or two listens to get that very point. Laconic and laid back is the order of the day but Everybody Knows… is never dull and never boring and while its been labelled simple, it really isn’t. Making music like this is never easy. There is enough subtle innovation on this record to keep the critic and fan alike coming back for more.
The sprawling title track which begins the album is a perfect example of that utilisation as a pulsing one chord guitar note is surrounded by a slow building array of atmospheric guitars, bass, synths, loops and sonic blips while Sermeus take us back ‘Ooh, let me take you back to the nineties, when we were teens’. The song is topped off by the perfectly minimal use of saxophone sitting amid swirling synths exentuating its nostalgic theme. The track is a hard act to follow but The Go Find manage to more to keep your attention. ‘Its Automatic’ is a catchy pop tune with a compact melody, ‘Neighbourhood’ has a simple chord progression that will remain embedded with you for days, ‘One Hundred Percent’ includes the vocals of Few Bit’s Karolien Van Ransbeeck and together with Sermeus’s deadpan delivery they make quite a duet. The washes of synth on ‘Stay’ will leave you starry eyed while the pulsating bass, off beats and out of nowhere chorus of ‘Running Mates’ is an album highlight. The closer ‘Heart Of Gold’ is a slow burner to die for and when Sermeus’s vocals meld beautifully together with the understated yet powerful synth notes over the chorus, you find yourself looking ahead at no-one in particular knowingly with a smile on the face.
Everybody Knows Its Gonna Happen Only Not Tonight is an album, despite its deceptive simplicity, that will last the course. Take it for a spin in a few years time and you’ll find yourself enjoying its comfort and handling just as much as you did on first listen. A subtle masterpiece.
James Stocker – March 8, 2010
