In the spring of 2023, Dutch singer-songwriter Frank Lamberts aka Frankie Fuzz took us on a time machine to the heyday of Nederbeat, with his irresistible debut single Als Sneeuw Voor De Zon, only to land on my year-end list on the way back.

On his first full-length album, aptly titled Strange Tales, he continues the whimsical journey through a surreal past with modern metaphorical stories about animated flowers, sinister machines, queer animals, love, and fear. The thirteen tracks—in addition to the aforementioned single, there is one other song in his native language (Planet Babylon); the majority is in English—fluctuate in intensity but consistently maintain an air of mystery and otherworldliness.

True to the spirit of a psychedelic baroque pop masterpiece, listeners travel along kaleidoscopic outskirts—via hazy vocals, vintage instrumentation, spoken-word samples and beguiling sound effects. Music like this is rarely made anymore, but Frankie follows his own path, which leads to unique whereabouts.

Strange Tales, recorded and produced by Arjan Spies, is out now on vinyl LP through Soundflat Records.

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