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Ilse DeLange – Tainted

Florian Buechting Media Review No Comments

Ilse DeLange - Tainted

Ilse DeLange - Tainted
3.9

Rating

 3.9/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Very versatile album
  • Good, personal songs
  • Very fluent listen

Flyctory.com Cons

  • Just few very good listens

For many years, Ilse de Lange was the most important female country artist of the Netherlands. However, her popularity outside her home country and the Dutch speaking part of Belgium was a bit of limited. With the more pop-alike album Changes, this changed significantly and she could at least expand it to the German speaking countries of Europe. Even though I struggled with the album, she played sold-out shows in Germany. Her recent theater tour through the Netherlands was sold out as well. On 3rd May 2024, she is back with a new album, Tainted. As especially as it was announced to have more country music elements again, I was really curious about it.

 

Ilse DeLange – About The Artist

Ilse Annoeska de Lange was born on 13rh May 1977 in Almelo in the Netherlands. In 1998, she skyrocketed the Dutch music scene. The five time platinum debut album World of Hurt, which has been recorded in Nashville, topped the domestic charts and stayed in the Top 100 for two and a half years. Even though the following album Livin’ on Love (2000) could not make it to the top, it still was another platinum one in her home country. The following five albums alll topped the (all-genre) charts in the Netherlands and also had platinum status. Two more albums, Ilse DeLange (2018) and Gravel & Dust (2019) made it to the Dutch Top 3. With the album Changes, DeLange got a stronger presence in Germany as well, where the album peaked 14th (Dutch #4).

In 2014, she placed second in the Eurovision Song Contest, alongside Dutch JB Meijers and the US-Americans Matthew Crosby and Jake Eldridge. Their band was called The Common Linnets. The song Calm After the Storm was a big European hit, with two golden records in Germany and a Top 10 ranking in the United Kingdom, for example. The band also released two albums. While the 2014 The Common Linnets had really good chart placements throughout Europe, the 2015 one, II, just topped the charts in the Netherlands. Their last release is the 2016 single In Your Eyes.

 

Ilse DeLange – Tainted – Track by Track

The twelve song album lasts 39 minutes.

1. Tainted

The title track is opening Ilse DeLange’s 2024 album. There is still the strong rhythmic touch of a pop song, but especially he guitar theme is catching. The song also has a nice groove and country / Americana touch. Tainted makes you move to its vibes – that simply cannot be too bad. A promising opener for Ilse’s new major release, which is by the way the first one under a new record label.

2. Easy Come, Easy Go

A step back into country music? While Tainted had just flavors of that, the second song is at least clearly an Americana track. The melodic Easy Come, Easy Go mixes the typical North American sound with pop rhythms. Long-time Ilse DeLange fans start polishing their boots and wait for what else is in store for them.

3. Confetti Shotgun

There has already been quite a flavor of the album before its release. Half of the songs have been released as singles beforehand. Confetti Shotgun has been one of them. The song is definitely more on the pop side and comes with dancing vibes. However, especially the chorus does spread Americana feelings again. And even if you liked the more recent pop tracks by the Dutch music star more, you will enjoy moving to the vibes of the track.

4. This Isn’t Really Love

In the fourth track, DeLange states This Isn’t Really Love. The song is one of my favorites. The song heads in the ballad direction, and works due to its fine melody and the fine voice of the artist.

5. Good To You

Good To You has been the latest album teaser. The song released one week before the album made it straight to my Country Music Playlists – and absolutely deserves this nomination. I feel it is a nice mix of country and pop again. The song reminds me of the big female artist country songs of the 1990’s.

6. Willing

The campaign towards Tainted has been a rather long one. The first single release of the album, Willing, has already been published in August 2022. The fluent melody of the song also touches folk music vibes. Again, it feels very authentic and balanced. There is something in this song for many kinds of listeners.

7. Stranger I Once Knew

After the small block of two already released songs, there are two new ones now. The first one is Stranger I Once Knew. The piano-driven song comes with a lovely vocal parts and a very fluent style. The rhythm of this one is also very catching and promises a happy 3:28 minute time on the upcoming tour through Germany (see below).

8. Running Out Of Tears

Running Out Of Tears feels darker and a bit of rougher than the songs before. This leads to a very special character in the context of the album. The chorus is rather soulful. Another song which leaves a mark in your mind. Nice.

9. Quiet

The pop-ish Quiet could have been a song on the Changes album. However, it would have been one of the best songs of the album. A very atmospheric song, which does have rhythmic elements, but also slows down here and there. This leads to a personal touch.

10. Owe It All To You

Overall, this part of the album moves away from the Americana style of the first part of Tainted. The song coming with drum computer-style rhythms and background vocal lines is rather a track for some mid-tempo moves on the dancefloor than catching people in a honky-tonk. Nice one, but also not more. I feel that other artists do better in that style of song.

11. Drown Us Out

The rhythm of Drown Us Out and the synth melodies at the beginning remind me of 1980’s pop tracks. This also keeps on until the very end of the second last listen of Tainted. At least, the song leads to another aspect, another flavor on the album.

12. Softly Spoken

Softly Spoken closes the album with a lot of emotions. The song touches R&B vibes, but also reminds of DeLange’s previous country music recordings. The drumming is a bit too present in my point of view, though.

 

Ilse DeLange – Tainted – Spotify

Here is the album on Spotify:

 

Ilse DeLange – Tainted – My View

Tainted is not superb, but I feel it suits Ilse DeLange much better than the predecessor album. From Americana ballads to pop songs, her 2024 release comes with a wide range of songs. This on the one hand illustrates the musical roots of the Dutch artist, but also her versatility. Thus, I overall feel that Tainted is a good step in the right direction. First of all, DeLange can develop her style in many directions based on this release. Secondly, it is definitely a good soundtrack for the upcoming live shows.

Favorite Song: This Isn’t Really Love

 

Ilse DeLange – Tour Germany 2024

In November 2024, Ilse DeLange is touring Germany. Here are her tour dates:

Fr 22.11.2024 Bremen – Metropol Theater
Sa 23.11.2024 Cologne – Carlswerk Victoria
Tu 26.11.2024 Frankfurt – Batschkapp
We 27.11.2024 Stuttgart – LKA-Longhorn
Fr 29.11.2024 Berlin – Theater am Potsdamer Platz
Sa 30.11.2024 Hamburg – Congress Center
Su 01.12.2024 Leipzig – Haus Auensee

 

Dutch Country Music Postings

Here are all my Music & Media postings related to the Netherlands and country music:

 

Postings with Gallery 2024

Here are postings coming with a major size photo gallery published in 2024:

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