One heavily reverbed guitar, a bass line dancing out of the root notes, a soft yet steady progression played on keys and the dry, vintage drum rhythm tapping beats as if tossing stones upon a lake and of course, to complete the quintet is frontman Daniel De Jong’s warm, buttery smooth vocals.

The Amsterdamers repertoire contains a casserole of sounds, on their latest EP So Much for Gardening, they continue an impressive streak of original music. The EP features four songs, “Unweaving the Rainbow Forever”, “Come Gather ‘Round”, “Show Me” and “Tomb for Rockets”.

Track one “Unweaving the Rainbow Forever” offers a cheery intro of, “ba, ba, ba’s,” which makes appearances as the bridge throughout the 3 minutes and 18 seconds, not unlike supreme songwriter Brian Wilson’s doo wop style of background vocals, providing structure and melody. 

Track two “Come Gather ‘Round” is a let down, sounding like a chant at summer camp, or a step up, a kindergarten song. Nevertheless, listen for the lead guitar at roughly the two minute mark…

Track three “Show Me” is predominantly a slow ballad. The band boasting their ability to switch directions and genres from track to track is quite sincerely a punch in the face  to other groups of similar occupation. 

At last, the final track “Tomb for Rockets”, my personal favorite. This singular song might be the face of Feng Suave. Jam packed into 4 minutes and 24 seconds it features the main genre the band excels at, a combination of just about everything. De Jong’s voice sparkles and shines, showcasing range and dynamics. Make sure to listen to that bass line! 

Past EP’s include their prominent self-titled release in 2017, and Warping Youth published in 2020. The Feng Suave EP features songs like “Honey, There’s No Time” and “Sink into the Floor”. In both, I feel the guitar and bass communicate very well with each other. They blend together while staying intact and precisely on beat. In the beginning of “Honey, There’s No Time”, listen right as the drums come in around 18 seconds into the song, the instruments all form together very beautifully.

Feng Suave’s musicality is rarer than tuna at a sushi bar, especially given how young they are. The music they are releasing currently is masterful, but the Amsterdamians are not even at the top of their game yet, not even close. In a few years, this quintet will be everywhere. 

Check out Feng Suave’s performance at Into The Great Wide Open