Sergeant + Small Folk

Het Belgische experimental pop trio Sergeant released their new album Symbols on Stroom, and was promptly picked up by music blog Pitchfork. Their live performances unfold like a sultry fever dream. Klein Volk builds playfully meandering compositions with naive sounds and light-footed melodies with a distinct vintage feel. Cheerful, but with a slight feeling of discomfort in the shadows. An adventurous double bill from the Belgian underground! SERGEANT Sergeant makes music as if they are working with film stock. Sound tracks are cut, divided, and put back together in a whirlwind of unexpected twists. The trio consists of filmmaker/composer Benjamin Cools, searching singer Ferre Marnef, and sonic surfer Geraldine Vanspauwen. Together they find a delicate balance between the raw edges of post-punk, the motoric drive of krautrock, and unpredictable pop. It is not strange that Sergeant found a home at Stroom, the quirky record label of Ziggy Devriendt aka Nosedrip. Their new album Symbols (2024) fits perfectly with the free and experimental wind that the label blows through Belgian music. Just like Milan W’s ‘Leave Another Day’ – also on Stroom – Symbols found its way to the leading music blog Pitchfork, an honor that very rarely falls to a Belgian act. Symbols is therefore a treat for musical adventurers who like to see bands color outside the lines. Live, Sergeant also plays with all brakes released: as if they are starting a sultry fever dream that keeps moving forward, even when the road seems lost and no one knows what the outcome should have been. KLEIN VOLK Klein Volk aims for quality over quantity. Seven years after their debut Gulden Onversneden, the trio released their second album In Weelde Verbrast earlier this year. It is a tribute to reflections on daily life in times of intense seriousness, consisting of naive sounds and light-footed melodies. With the help of synths and guitar, Klein Volk builds playfully meandering compositions with a distinct vintage feel: Cheerful, but with a slight feeling of discomfort in the shadows, as if you are watching an old cartoon on a noisy screen. Klein Volk is: Marie Baeke, Timo Bonneure, and Wesley Buyse.