cover artwork: Illustration by Douwe Dijkstra, design by Janne Timmer; image courtesy of Big D Radio Promotons

Single Review of Harlem Lake: “Carry On”

Harlem Lake is a powerful Dutch blues/blues-rock outfit, winners of the 10th European Blues Challenge in 2022. The band features the powerhouse vocals of Janne Timmer and the musicianship of Dave Warmerdam (organ, Rhodes [keyboard], backing vocals), Sonny Ray Van den Berg (guitar), Benjamin Torbijn (drums), and Kjelt Ostendorf (bass, backing vocals).

“Carry On” is my first exposure to Harlem Lake’s music, and this song really packs a punch. It has a psychedelic ’70s guitar style, soulful blues vocals that are sensual and/or booming as required in the moment, a bit of a Beatles’ “Come Together”-ish vibe (I keep expecting to hear the lyric “juju eyeball”) except much louder and harder rockin’, and a huge, pounding, rhythmic beat that circles back onto itself, sequentially building in power, exploding into the lyrics, more powerful each time, “Carry on, baby. Carry on, and be a bad, bad boy.” Following the big musical outburst just past the song’s mid-point, “Carry On” devolves (or, perhaps, progresses) into an orgasmic organ and guitar-fueled jam. The song softens one more time, making room for just one more verse, before ending with one final explosive instrumental jam.

The Beatles reference notwithstanding, Harlem Lake’s “Carry On” is akin to the kind of powerful, pulsing blues-rock you’d expect from the likes of George Thorogood, perhaps with a bit of Janis Joplin thrown in for psychedelic good measure. Beginning to end, “Carry On” is a powerhouse song, one that concludes far sooner than you might expect at just 3:09, especially since it seems like such fertile ground for big instrumental solos and jamming – something I’d hope happens live in concert, at least sometimes – but that’s plenty of time to leave you, the listener, exhausted yet ready for just one more ride, if you don’t mind.

Harlem Lake bills itself as Americana blues rock, but “Carry On” is just a whole lotta rock, a fair amount of blues, and not so much Americana. I look forward to digging deeper into the band’s catalog to get a better sense of its full musical range.

Looking Ahead

Harlem Lake has a packed schedule of concert dates this spring and summer, according to the “Shows” page of the band’s website. On Saturday, March 16th, the band will be performing in Purmerend, Netherlands. After that the band’s website shows several more concerts in France, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Norway, running from now through summer, with a few fall shows booked, as well. You can find additional details at the band’s website. Of course, be sure to check back periodically as more shows are added.