You know us here at Start-Track: Sometimes an artist sounds so nice, we review them (at least) twice. About a month ago, we reviewed “Omen”, the debut track from Rupit, the project of Dutch experimental artist Bernardo van Bemmelen (a.k.a. B. Moens). Now we feature “Distance”, the second single from NEU, the project’s debut concept album.
On NEU, Rupit takes us into the world of a young Mallorcan man named Arnau, whose idealism crumbles as the world changes around him, both on and off the island. “Distance” catches the character deep in an emotional crater, remembering good times with a lover and ruminating over separation and destruction. It continues the line of thought from “Omen”: Where that song told of visions of worrisome occurrences, “Distance” tells of those premonitions coming to light and dragging Arnau into the emotional abyss.
Bemmelen’s vocals and guitars introduce the song with quiet brooding, but as the song progresses, guitars and additional voices layer on top to provide additional harmony. It is sparse and raw, and therefore gorgeous, given the content of the song. There is a sense of acceptance here — what has happened cannot un-happen — and yet there is repressed pain in Bemmelen’s voice as he sings in a low, reflective tone. For it is implied at the end of the song that the hurt was self-imposed: “There’s a distance within my memories / I used to care and shit / But the closeness cut so deep / I start to bleed.”
It is an arresting track from a new record of incredible storytelling and music that often bends genre to enhance the emotional weight of the words. And while “Distance” is not too far outside the lines — sticking to the acoustic folk that would fit Bon Iver or Sufjan Stevens’ more stripped-down work — it is still a wonderful taste of what Rupit can accomplish musically even with just a few elements to work with.
NEU is out now, but take a listen to “Distance” below to get a taste of the full story.
Written by Will Sisskind
