Piecing together a tapestry based on thunder and gumption, Belgian pop rock group CMON CMON are a trio of avuncular, adroit musicians who put their hearts in their music, leaving the rest behind a cloak of some anonymity. They are older than the average rock group, which might explain why they have chosen not to appear in their own videos. But experience comes with age, and the trio – who had worked together in college halls as younger men – put their differences aside to demonstrate their new truths from a more interesting view in life, and in many ways, it’s paid off: There are enough Ed Sheeran’s and Justin Timberlake’s to cater for the nineteen-year-old market. CMON CMON cater for a more mature faction of society. And with their dreamlike, poetic laden elegies, the band showcase their desire to put their perspectives in the workplace to better use. The band have just finished an EP, and are in the process of putting together an album.
Songwriter Jorrit Hermans says that he’s better able to articulate his memories of the 1990s in a way he couldn’t during the 1990s. In his own idiosyncratic way, he assembles these fragments into one cohesive whole, bolstered by a shimmering guitar hook and a soaring chorus line. In some ways, they are the missing link between Gotye’s heartfelt yearning and Stromae’s jagged edged funk, which means that they encompass the melody and the wild abandon Belgium offers.
Key Track: “The Summers We Missed”: Bolstered by drummer Michel Becx’s propulsive drum patterns, Hermans opens up to reflect on a year that was suffuse with energy, memory and general bonhomie. The rollicking hook is pleasantly reminiscent of late 1980s indie rock, but there’s no way the tune – glistening with imagery and minute detail – could have been written by a Manchester band. But there’s no doubt that they have an audience waiting for them there should they decide to tour the UK in the coming months,
For Fans Of: R.E.M, Weezer, Teenage Fanclub, Godley & Creme.
