While Dutch Interior’s two previous albums—2021’s “Kindergarten” and 2023’s “Blinded By Fame” were low-stakes and lo-fi affairs, “Moneyball” is more intentional. On their Fat Possum debut, the band embraces their namesake, reinterpreting past forms in a different light. There’s the Merle Haggard-esque shuffle of “Sweet Time,” (which includes an interpretation of the Allman Brothers Band’s “Jessica”); the ‘70s FM chug of “Sandcastle Molds”; the Harvest Neil Young warmth on “Wood Knot.” This is old-sounding music made by a group that’s done their reading and understands its musical heritage. Sure, “Moneyball” relies on old tricks, but Dutch Interior gives them new life.
The new record from Dutch Interior. Stereogum has called the band’s music “fantastically immersive” and Paste cosigns their “recipe for a rock song that’ll stick with you long after it’s over.” Friends since childhood, the LA-based sixpiece’s new record is an an inventive blend of modern day Americana, shapeshifting indie and ultimately an inspired passion project from six lifelong friends who have made a record that sounds bigger than themselves.
When the group finally turns the amplifiers up for the riff on “Fourth Street,” it’s an earned release. The song is named after their Long Beach neighborhood where they recorded “Kindergarten“. It’s the thesis to “Moneyball’s” endearing humanism: an ode to the friendships that make up the band and hold it all down.
Despite the members’ varying song writing approaches, “Moneyball” never loses the core identity of Dutch Interior. While it helps that the five vocalists all sound relatively similar, the real identity of the band comes from the community of the musicians themselves.
It’s in the way that their personalities balance each other out: country twang alongside eerie folk, electric riff-rock next to delicate acoustic guitar. It’s the sounds of their friendships baked into the songs: natural, comfortable, and communal coexistence.
their new album “Moneyball” out now on Fat Possum Records.
The Fat Angel Sings 