17. April 2026
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Media Review

Douwe Bob – Outcast Town

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

Douwe Bob - Outcast Town

Douwe Bob - Outcast Town
4.2

Rating

 4.2/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Very nice and relatable songs with a very personal touch
  • Nice range of different tracks

Originally, the Dutch artist Douwe Bob was scheduled to present his country music vibes at the 2026 Country To Country in Berlin. He finally could not make it. The more, I was looking forward to Outcast Town, which is his seventh album overall. Here is my review of the 17th April 2026 release.

 

Douwe Bob – About The Artist

Douwe Bob was born on 12th December 1992 in Amsterdam. His father is part of a famous group of designers. Already at the age of six, he started to play guitar, majorly focusing on classic music and jazz. More and more, he was also influenced by folk, country and other genres. He became famous in the Netherlands when he won a TV talent show in 2012. His song Multicolored Angels peaked 17th in the domestic charts, his 2013 debut album Born in a Storm even made it to the Top 10. Apart from a 2025 tour album, no Douwe Bob album thereafter placed worse than fourth in the Netherlands.

The artist became famous internationally, when he was the Dutch contestant of the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm. With his song Slow Down, he just missed the Top 10 and finished eleventh in the final. His most recent album release is Where Did All The Cool Kids Go? (2024), which was a golden record in the Netherlands.

 

Douwe Bob – Outcast Town – Track by Track

The thirteen song album lasts 42 minutes.

1. Welcome To Outcast Town

Welcome To Outcast Town – what a friendly way welcoming the listener to Douwe Bob’s 2026 album. The opener starts a bit of slow-ish, but the chorus definitely raises your attraction level and even has some sing along potential. The track is more on the pop music side, but cannot deny its country music influences.

2. Fly Away

A strumming guitar, a personal singer-songwriter atmosphere – Fly Away comes with quite straight modern country music feelings. I would have definitely stopped at his stage when Douwe Bob had presented this song in Berlin. A really nice track, which also comes with a good leverage of emotional and energetic sections.

3. With You

Three songs of the album have already been shared before the Outcast Town release date. With You is a quite fast, melodic country-pop song. Here and there, it even feels a bit of hectic to me. Nonetheless, the song stays in your mind.

4. Wanna Be Free

Wanna Be Free follows a similar plot than Fly Away. The beginning and the stanzas are rather calm. However, the more the chorus are an energetic experience. The focus is on that part of the song, which drives a major part of the listening experience. With 2:47 minutes, the song almost comes in Nashville mainstream size. Maybe I just wanna be free, Douwe Bob thinks in here – and you feel with him.

5. My Place

There’s millions of people ion New York City, but I know I still feel all alone, states Douwe Bob at the beginning of the chorus of My Place. Nonetheless, the chorus closes with I think I finally found my place. The song is a rather emotional one with country and pop sprinkles. My Place feels straight, personal – just as a good country song should be alike.

6. Tired Eyes

Tired Eyes leads Outcast Town into a rather folk-alike direction. The three minute song is fine and fragile, which also means that it has a lovely, intimate touch. There is a nice focus on the vocals and the stories. I like it.

7. Photographs

I look at your photography, remember the way you lough – the seventh track is definitely one of the most touching listens. The farewell ballad just has everything to touch your heart and moisture your eyes. It majorly just comes with the artist’s voice and the piano. What a beauty.

8. Benny

The first riffs of Benny rip you out from the emotional and melancholic vibes of the previous track. The album takes us back to how it defined before – powerful, catching country-pop songs. While Photographs is one of the best emotional listens of the album, Benny is at its top in regards of the energy. You might join in to Benny‘s rhythm.

9. Cold Hard Truth

Cold Hard Truth is one of the songs on Outcast Town, which have stronger folk music vibes. The chorus has one of the most nicely flowing melodies of the albums. Maybe not the most present and most punching songs at first listen, but there is quite some beauty in this one.

10. Little Bit Stronger

Initially, Little Bit Stronger has a rather strong pop music touch, but it soon turns back into the modern country music style of the album. However, some melodic lines and plots also remind of folk music songs. Every day, I’m a little bit stronger – the song definitely has an uplifting character.

11. Could Have Been Us (feat. SERA)

For this single release Douwe Bob has worked together with Dutch singer-songwriter Sera de Bruin, who is typically releasing under her first name. The duet style adds a nice flavor to the album, even though the song deviates quite a bit from the overall signature of Outcast Town.

12. Tender Touch

The last previously unreleased song of Outcast Town is Tender Touch. The title already suggests a rather emotional experience. Indeed, Douwe Bob presents another really beautiful ballad, which is – again – significantly more on the pop than on the Americana side. However, the Dutch, the piano, strings and gentle drums are absolutely heartwarming.

13. Angel Child

Douwe Bob opens the last track of his 2026 album with This is a story of a young prince. The song starts with some lullaby vibes, but soon becomes louder and more present. Nonetheless, an emotional and intimate album is closed with a lot of emotions.

 

Douwe Bob – Outcast Town – Spotify

Here is the album on Spotify:

 

Douwe Bob – Outcast Town – My View

After listening to Outcast Town, I am even more sad that the Dutch artist could not make it to the German C2C 2026. I feel he would have added really quite a lot of value with the songs of this album to the festival. Outcast Town is a beautiful listen, which has its signature, but also diverts from it and thus does not get boring. I had an absolutely enjoyable time with Douwe Bob’s 2026 record.

Favorite Song: Fly Away

 

Dutch Country Music Postings

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

 

Flyctory.com about Country To Country

Here are more postings related to the Country To Country festivals in the UK, Netherlands, Ireland and Germany:

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