Dutch collective Personal Trainer will release their new album Human Assholes on September 4 via Bella Union. The band has revealed new album preview track “Hole”. Lead by percussive handclaps and woodwinds crashing into wailing guitar, new single “Hole” is a catchy song with appropriately confusing lyrics about someone losing the plot. Frontman and songwriter Willem Smit shares, “‘Hole’ was the shortest and fastest song on our new record “Human Assholes,” until I accidentally came up with the second half. I wanted to try and throw in some sort of a “moral to the story” in the middle of it, because I’d never done that. I’d say it’s a happy sounding sad song aiming for gold.” The brilliantly shrimpy accompanying video was made by Hotel Modern.

There’s this funny Dutch phrase that goes “mijn ei kwijt kunnen”, which quite clumsily translates to “unloading my egg”; it more or less means having an environment or activity where all your feelings, creativity and energy can unshackle as you see fit. For the past 10 years, Willem Smit’s eggs found their baskets within Personal Trainer, the restlessly creative Dutch indie rock stalwarts who have gradually risen up from Amsterdam’s grassroots scenes to touring the world as part of the roster of UK label Bella Union. 

Three years of non-stop touring brought Personal Trainer to a freeing realization: no song is ever final, and no show is ever the last. One of the bigger decisions for Human Assholes was to make the acoustic guitar the starting point. And even more importantly, pen the songs in a physical room with the rest of the band instead of cutting and pasting stuff behind a screen. It is the magic of a shared creative experience, including the accidents and breakthroughs along the way, that bring Human Assholes to life.

Personal Trainer have UK & EU headline shows and festival appearances this Summer and Autumn. All dates are listed here.

Photo Courtesy: Sophie Koterus Korting