NFV Song Spotlight: Dutch East Indians' All Times High

I first came across the Dutch East Indians in November 2024 at Zebulon. They were playing with a band called Autogramm. I wrote an NFV Song Spotlight on one of Autogramm's songs, which you can click on this link for the write-up. Now I'm writing up a NFV Song Spotlight on Dutch East Indians. 

Dutch East Indians at Harvard & Stone

For anyone who remembers their history courses, the name Dutch East Indians has you thinking about the Dutch East India Company. This is a company that started up in 1602 and at the stock's peak, reached a market cap (with appropriate adjustments made) of 7.9 trillion. By contrast, Apple (the most valuable company currently) has a market cap of 3.9 trillion. 

Is the band named, at least partially, after that 17th century company? If you take a look at this Instagram post, the answer has to be yes as the post using the initials VOC. What does VOC have to do with the Dutch East India Company? The company name in Dutch is Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC for short.

Dutch East Indians at Harvard & Stone

Dutch East Indians is an offshoot from a band called Maniac. I saw that band a couple times back in 2016 and 2019. I remember the 2019 set, because I thought it was played on what I would call one of the most unsafe stages ever. Here's what I wrote at the time (with a couple edits):

"I closed out the night by heading to [venue edited out] to catch Pu$$y Cow and Maniac for some solid punk. One thing I noticed: [venue edited out] had a drum weight for the bass drum. It was just a cut 2x4. What I noticed was that nails were sticking out of the wood by perhaps 1/4 inch. I pointed it out, but I guess I was the only one concerned that a musician might accidentally step on it." 

Nails sticking up on the stage, I definitely remember that night. 

Dutch East Indians at Harvard & Stone

Anyways, on a Swyndle promoted night at Harvard & Stone, I caught Dutch East Indians for a second time. The music is as raw and garage rock as you can get. Their songs are minimalist and many have a length of around 2 minutes. Lyrics hover in that nexus between singing and speaking. There's a snarl and punctuation used to emphasize lyrical beats. The band has no pretenses, they're just there on stage to hit you with gritty rock tunes.      

With the historical background of the Dutch East Indians, take a listen to the band's song "All Time High."  

You really feel like something in that sea of nothing.

As Christmas Eve was just 24 hours away, the band warned about heroin, "Actually, it is probably all fentanyl anyways so just be careful out there. You know it is the holidays. People use drugs. People die. So watch out."

Setlist: Who Killed the Blacksmith, Highway Collateral, Swallowing, Clear Your Throat, White House Blues, All Times High, Naturans Naturata, Foolish Pride, Carbon Etiquette, Deadstock