{"product_id":"personal-trainer-still-willing","title":"PERSONAL TRAINER - Still Willing","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #ff0000;\" mce-data-marked=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLP - Limited Dinked Edition #300:  \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e•\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e White vinyl \u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e*\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e•\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e Bonus ‘Intagible’ white 7” featuring White Denim remix \u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e*\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e•\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e 16 Page A5 Fanzine \u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e*\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e•\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e Signed Trading Card \u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e*\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e•\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e Limited pressing of 600 \u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e*\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e*\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e = EXCLUSIVE to Dinked Edition\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf you like pop music to keep you on your toes, Amsterdam’s \u003cstrong\u003ePersonal Trainer\u003c\/strong\u003e provide that service fulsomely on their second album. Essentially the project of \u003cstrong\u003eWillem Smit\u003c\/strong\u003e (working with co-producer\/collaborator \u003cstrong\u003eCasper van der Lans\u003c\/strong\u003e) on record and a band live, Personal Trainer showed a facility for DIY indie-pop exuberance and experiment in sync with 2022’s debut, \u003cem\u003eBig Love Blanket\u003c\/em\u003e. Now signed to \u003cstrong\u003eBella Union\u003c\/strong\u003e, Willem returns re-energised with Still Willing, a multi-faceted album of shining contrasts and spry melodies, bursting arrangements and subliminal sounds, playful lyrics and self-reflection: in short, a pop album executed with dynamism, vim and charm.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eAs Willem says, this is a record fuelled by its extremes: sometimes energetic and loud, sometimes quiet and thoughtful, always full of hidden pleasures. “When I listen to the records I make, the main thing I hope is that every time something happens on them, you’re like, ‘Wow.’ I like to be taken by surprise like that on a record, to kind of be thrown around.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThose surprises start at the beginning, where ‘\u003cem\u003eUpper Ferntree Gully\u003c\/em\u003e’ shows a dreamy side to Personal Trainer before choppy, chunky riffs and electronics take over. Meanwhile, Willem’s anchoring imprint is ever-present: he prefers not to dissect his lyrics, but the title nod to his mother’s birthplace in Australia and opening recording of her voice seed a spirit of warmth and intimacy in the record – the personal in Personal Trainer, perhaps. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eIn a sharp left-turn, ‘\u003cem\u003eI Can be Your Personal Trainer\u003c\/em\u003e’ follows with a buoyant swing. The album proceeds with that duality in mind, always Smit’s work yet always fresh, always seeking. In Willem’s description, ‘\u003cem\u003eCyan\u003c\/em\u003e’ is “a weird, happy pop track”, chivvied onwards by contributor \u003cstrong\u003eNick Bolland\u003c\/strong\u003e’s sax and leavened by vocal contributions from Dutch alt-pop singer \u003cstrong\u003eLena Hessels\u003c\/strong\u003e. “With most of this one I was trying to make myself laugh or at least smile,” says Willem. “And then I started to really like it. Somewhere along the process I found something like honesty or something beautiful in it.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eElsewhere, there’s strutting rock in ‘\u003cem\u003eRound\u003c\/em\u003e’ and vulnerability in ‘\u003cem\u003eNew Bad Feeling\u003c\/em\u003e’. ‘\u003cem\u003eIntangible\u003c\/em\u003e’ issues another gearshift, erupting from a rising synth line into spry indie-funk pop, where Willem’s innate melodic instincts light the way into uncharted territory for Personal Trainer. As Willem explains, “I tried to make a song that is something I wouldn’t normally do and experiment with that. I like how it turned out because it’s also probably one of the first instances where I had the chorus first and the other parts later, which rarely happens.” \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThe plangent sensitivity of ‘\u003cem\u003eTesting the Alarm\u003c\/em\u003e’ adds playful wordplay (“lallygag in shrubbery”) before live favourite ‘\u003cem\u003eYou Better Start Scrubbing\u003c\/em\u003e’ arrives on album in a joyously abrasive blast of no-wave vigour, its glorious shout-along chorus aided by guest vocals from three members of Dutch alt-rock quintet \u003cstrong\u003eThe Klittens\u003c\/strong\u003e. Finally, ‘\u003cem\u003eWhat Am I Supposed to Say about the People and their Ways\u003c\/em\u003e’ signs the album off on a wryly humble note, Willem upholding an inquisitive mindset over the modern bleat of “bleeping know-it-alls”.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eWitty, welcoming and winningly melodic, \u003cem\u003eStill Willing\u003c\/em\u003e is the sound of an instinctive DIY-pop musician favouring think-on-your-feet exploration and intuition over know-it-all premeditation. Willem’s initial intent was to record the album as if live, but he realised that his chemistry with Casper would not be denied. “I felt that we had grown and built a language together. We don’t have to say a lot, but we understand each other well. There was a lot less like trying out stuff and taking stuff away compared to the last one, because it felt like we were on the same wavelength.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eAs for how they work together, says Willem, the songs and sounds are assembled in detailed increments. “I write the songs and record most of the stuff, like kind of the skeleton, and then we record drums together. That’s the first step, most of the time. From there, we build. I don’t know much about compressors or weird effects. But Casper knows a lot about that and is really enthusiastic. If I want some part to work better, he’s like, ‘Oh, yeah, I have an idea for that.’ And there were times when I would say, ‘Do you feel like playing this part?’ And he just plays it.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRecorded between home and – says Willem – “places that don’t cost much to record at”, the result is a DIY pop album brimming with ideas and colour. Whereas \u003cem\u003eBig Love Blanket\u003c\/em\u003e’s experimental sounds included a celery stick snapping, Still Willing features floorboards, doors closing and “no-input mixing”. Alongside Hessels and The Klittens, contributors include drummer \u003cstrong\u003eKick Kluiving\u003c\/strong\u003e and (for half of the songs) bassist \u003cstrong\u003eRuben van Weegberg\u003c\/strong\u003e, also Willem’s bandmate in the band \u003cstrong\u003eCanshaker Pi\u003c\/strong\u003e, who numbered Stephen Malkmus among their producers. Most of the percussion comes from \u003cstrong\u003eKilian Kayser\u003c\/strong\u003e, and discreet sounds are served by \u003cstrong\u003eAbel Tuinstra\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eOtto de Jong\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eWillem is the epicentre of the band, which originated from impromptu and exhilarating live shows featuring ever-shifting members of different local bands sharing a bustling stage. The live line-up has solidified somewhat but Willem still welcomes the contrast with his recorded work: “When I make the record, it’s me calling the shots. But I can’t tell everyone exactly what to do every second when we’re on stage. There’s, like, shakers flying around or instruments being thrown all over the place, so I don’t have the capacity to control that. And that’s really exciting to me.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eBig Love Blanket\u003c\/em\u003e harnessed that energy in 10 excitable pop songs, bright and bracing. Acclaim from Steve Lamacq, Marc Riley, Mojo, Clash, DIY Mag and others followed. Support slots with BC Camplight in 2023 were joyfully received, as was a tour for Independent Venues Week with The Klittens and Real Farmer. Personal Trainer have notched up many festival visits, too, including stop-offs at the End of the Road, Wilderness and The Great Escape. In December 2023, an EP featuring the tracks ‘The Feeling’ (all nine minutes of it) and ‘\u003cem\u003eBabyolifantjes\u003c\/em\u003e’ (translated: baby elephants) also emerged, recorded with a view to capturing the band’s live form. Soon, Smit and his bandmates will showcase that form with summer festivals including Green Man, Deershed, Truck Festival and Lowlands. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eMeanwhile, \u003cem\u003eStill Willing\u003c\/em\u003e arrives as a fervid expression of Willem’s home-recording and studio methods, tethered to inviting pop instincts and rich with the fertile promise of more to come. Willem doesn’t want to tell you what or how to think about the album but, he says, “It would be awesome if people like it and buy the record, so that I can make another one.” On the strength of \u003cem\u003eStill Willing\u003c\/em\u003e, he’s fit for the long distance.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bella Union","offers":[{"title":"LP - Vinyl - Dinked Edition #300","offer_id":48374874407257,"sku":"SDZ-27621","price":31.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0588\/3455\/0945\/files\/Personal_Trainer_-_Still_Willing_-_CD_-_2024.jpg?v=1781228510","url":"https:\/\/spindizzyrecords.com\/products\/personal-trainer-still-willing","provider":"Spindizzy Dublin","version":"1.0","type":"link"}