If your appetite for quality guitar pop is endless, The Maureens should already be on your radar. Today the Dutch quartet release Don’t Give Up, album number five in a 15-year run built on craft, consistency, and a genuine love for the perfect pop song. The band remain true to their instincts, still chasing the magic of classic touchstones like The Byrds and later heirs to that tradition such as Nada Surf and Teenage Fanclub.
The Maureens sound more poised than ever here, and recording the album in a remote wooden cottage in the Belgian Ardennes clearly did something good for the atmosphere. Don’t Give Up feels calm, warm, and deeply considered, the kind of record that quietly pushes back against the permanently distracted state of modern life.
Because these songs go down so easily, it would be a mistake to overlook just how carefully constructed they are. Tracks like Oceans Apart and Never Learn reveal more detail with each spin, while the warm production from legendary Dutch producer Frans Hagenaars (Bettie Serveert, Darryll-Ann, Johan, Moss) suits the material perfectly.
Available now on Meritorio.