Dressed Like Boys
You may recognize Jelle Denturck as the front man of DIRK., a band with which he “made a great racket the past few years”, as he himself stated. He does consider himself to be a massive softy though, with a record collection full of melancholy indie pop and rock: Bowie, Beatles, Lou Reed, Elton John, Nina Simone, Anohni & The Johnsons, Sufjan Stevens, Perfume Genius, Wilco, Tobias Jesso Jr. There is clearly a side to Denturck that he could not show in DIRK. It is time for that to change.
As Dressed Like Boys, he wanted to write songs and make a record that’s fully his own. Not as some kind of ego trip, but as a means of self-discovery. Denturck sings about the search for his personal freedom, his dearest friends, his homosexuality and his relationship, althouh he doesn’t shy away from heavier subjects like bay bashing. It doesn’t get any more personal and fragile. Musically speaking, the aforementioned record collection left its mark on the overall sound of Dressed Like Boys, mostly calling back to the seventies. Denturck guides that decade into the 21st century with tape records, real strings, Wurlitzers, Rhodes piano, cookie jar drum sounds. There is also a welcome reconnection with the first instrument he ever mastered as a child, a grand piano. While he loves making a racket with DIRK., with Dressed Like Boys the volume knob can go a bit more to the left for an intimate glimpse into his soul.
