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BETTIE SERVEERT
Log 22
Palomine
In "wide eyed fools," the first song on her fifth American album,
Carol Van Dyk specifies her continuing identification with functioning
misfits who "don't have much to show for life." That's her gift, and
that's her curse. The college radio-heads who loved 1992's Palomine
have settled into reasonable lives. They don't have the time or the
spiritual resources to understand a "freak" who asserts, "Ever since
the age of five/I was already aware of what's important in life." The
incomprehension isn't Van Dyk's fault, however. Competing Brits and
Americans (and Swedes and, please, Icelanders) should note this
Dutchwoman's command of idiomatic English, so rarely awkward that its
lapses are endearing. The first few tunes are instant, and all stay
with you. And just when you thought her musicians were content to
anchor a song band, they'll jam your ass off, alt-style: Seven minutes
of "The Ocean, My Floor" could inspire Lou Reed to a cutting contest.
Rolling Stone, Apr. 17, 2003
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