Jellephant & The Phantoms may be no more, but frontman Jelle Haagsma continues to create under the Jellephant moniker, and Undead marks his 14th (!) album. Haagsma, a multi-instrumentalist and multi-talented artist, cites influences like Neutral Milk Hotel, Guided By Voices, Jay Reatard, and Sonic Youth in shaping this record.

The result is a garage indie rock album that balances loud and quiet moments without ever slipping into the mundane. It showcases Haagsma’s songwriting prowess, seamlessly blending stripped down acoustics (in the title track), instant pleasers (the standouts W/ You and Distortions), energetic garage rockers (Big Deal) and delicate instrumentals, like Dew – and that’s just the first half of the record; the B-side follows a similar trajectory and is of equal appeal.

This is lo-fi home recording done right, full of raw authenticity and charm. And keep your ears peeled — Haagsma’s cats, Ollie & Siep, make occasional guest appearances with meows and door-scratching sounds. How many of their cameos can you catch?

LP out now on Brighter Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp