Brand New Love

Synthesizers open up the tonal range for The Go Find, whose Dieter Sermeus has been recording alternative rock/pop since the late '90s. The synths create a busyness in the sound that makes a song like “We Run” sound as if more is going on besides his lonely voice and the chords he’s picked to support them. Just as there’s a greater static sense to “Your Heart,” where the keyboards take their time while various electronic effects simulate the feel of a menacing world encroaching. The album title is pulled from a Sebadoh song of the same name, and while Sermeus doesn’t cover that song here, he's clearly learned a lot about indie pop pathos from Sebadoh leader Lou Barlow. This Belgian writer and musician knows more than one speed, and the jangling guitars of “We Promised Together” recall the gorgeous and literate pop of ‘80s alternative rockers Robyn Hitchcock and The Go-Betweens. “Summer Boys” flirts with the melancholy of Belle & Sebastian, while finding its own particular voice. “Japan” turns up the synth-pop. It’s a thoroughly engaging affair.