Maarten Devoldere aka Warhaus
We've been waiting for new music from Warhaus for half a decade now. The side project of Maarten Devoldere, who together with Jinte Deprez is also behind Balthazar, impressed in quick succession with the two albums ‘We Fucked a Flame into Being’ and ‘Warhaus’, only to sink back into silence. This was of course due to the fact that the Belgian was busy with other things. But deep down, Devoldere simply needed a stimulus. The songs on the new album ‘Ha Ha Heartbreak’ were not created in the studio in Ghent. They poured out of him during the three weeks he spent in hot Palermo. All he needed was the solitude of a hotel room, a guitar, a microphone and a heart that had recently crumbled into a thousand pieces. Sicily was an escape that ended in a new record. The listener doesn't feel anything of this story at first. The opener swings tastefully like everything from Warhaus. Perhaps Devoldere sings a little too confidently. But with each song he opens up more and more, even if he is still somewhat gracious with himself at first. But the more he breaks down his poses, the more you can hear the pain and despair. The sound, however, remains as light-footed and glowing as a French film with all the strings, wind instruments, sensual backing singers and musical richness. All that remains of Sicily are the original and haunting vocal tracks. If you listen carefully to ‘Time Bomb’, you will notice towards the end, alongside these desperate screams, how the neighbours in the room are banging annoyed against the walls. ‘Ha Ha Heartbreak’ has two winners: Devoldere was able to process his pain and channel it artistically in the most beautiful way; and the listener gets a grandiose, even unique record in this elegant Warhaus style. The project will be coming to us on tour in March.