Dressed Like boys

Jelle Denturck is the singer and frontman of DIRK., a popular Belgian indie band that – in his own words – ‘has been making a fair amount of noise these past few years’. But in fact he thinks he’s a real softie, with a record collection full of melancholic indie pop and rock music: Bowie, Beatles, Lou Reed, Elton John, Nina Simone, Anohni & The Johnsons, Sufjan Stevens, Perfume Genius, Wilco, Tobias Tesso Jr. … clearly there’s a side to Denturck that doesn’t easily reveal itself in DIRK.’s music.

It's about time, Denturck feels. As Dressed Like Boys he wanted to write songs and make a record all of his own. Not to turn it into an ego trip, but by way of self-examination. Denturck sings about the search for personal freedom, about his dearest friends, his homosexuality and relationship, but doesn’t shy away from uncomfortable topics like gay bashing either. It doesn’t get more personal and fragile than this. Musically the influence of Denturck’s record collection is inevitable, and Dressed Like Boys’ sound mainly echoes that of the 70s.

Denturck takes it into the 21st century with tape recorders, (real!) strings, Wurlitzers, Rhodes, biscuit tin like drum sounds and a wonderful reunion with the (grand) piano, the first ever instrument he learned to play as a child. For all the noise Denturck likes to make with DIRK., Dressed Like Boys allows him to turn the volume down a bit for an intimate look into his soul.