M-E-L-L-O-W, and that’s not a complaint. The apparent pull of the Great Magnet spoken of by Hunter S. Thompson whose whims Gronsveld, the Netherlands-based guitarist/vocalist Sander Haagmans has been following for the last 12 or so years would seem to have been drawing the former bassist of Sungrazer toward turning his solo-project into a full band. Live at Bankastudios, Maastricht, 22-12-2023 isn’t the first The Whims of the Great Magnet offering with a full lineup, but the 59-minute set recorded by Edis Pajazetovic at — wait for it — Bankastudios, in Maastricht, NL, and mixed/mastered by Arthur von Berg does comprise the first live release they’ve done, and it feels purposeful in its psychedelic soothsaying in a way that could indicate a new direction for the project which, true to its moniker, has up to this point seemed to resist set parameters of style around Haagmans‘ songcraft.

Or maybe part of that is wishful thinking as the gracefully jammed, flowing takes on the title-track of 2021’s Share My Sun EP and the 2023 single “Same New” (review here) present extended interpretations around the root structures and memorable melodies. Those pieces, which on Live at Bankastudios (if you’ll pardon the truncated title) run 14 and nearly 18 minutes, respectively, are also the only two songs included that were previously released, which also speaks to composition happening, perhaps also in a group context. While it’s ultimately pointless to speculate whether this incarnation of The Whims of the Great Magnet will embark on one or more studio releases with this configuration — mathematically speaking, they either will or won’t — the exploratory aspect of their work here and the reads-as-declarative chemistry of their performance highlights potential for what they might accomplish should the pursuit continue.

But that’s getting ahead of Live at Bankastudios itself. Beginning with the nine-minute raga-type warmup jam “Das Schwarze Munster,” a thread of improvisation seems to wind through the proceedings. Obviously there are structured parts, both in the two longer cuts already noted and the casually rolling fuzzer “Reborn” that precedes the open-spaced finale “Frog.” but with that bookending excursion into the unknown-till-they-get-there, the three-minute instru-shuffle of “A New Bro Rider” and the cosmic-leaning feel added to the middle of “Share My Sun” by means of keys/synth, everything comes across as being either built from an improv foundation or actually improvised. It is loose. Not so much in terms of the band being sloppy, but in the utter lack of pretense of the execution and the seeming willingness to let the songs unfold as they will, The Whims of the Great Magnet indeed feel ready to let themselves be drawn in whatever direction the material itself might want to take.

The lineup around Haagmans is well suited to that task of letting go. The already-mentioned von Berg handles the synth as well as guitar and vocals, and Jonathan Frederix drums. On bass/vocals is David Eering — also the founding guitarist/vocalist of The Machine — and his pairing with Haagmans feels significant in a way that undercuts some of the intentionally-low-key presentation of the album, though more conceptually than in the actual listening experience. That is, a collaboration between Eering and Haagmans is a big deal if you recall 12-14 years ago when, in The Machine and Sungrazer, they were at the vanguard of a new generation of jam-based heavy psychedelia.

In terms of hearing Live at Bankastudios, it feels much less like an ‘event’ on that level. Given that it it was recorded live, even live-in-studio, it is inherently more concerned with its present than its pedigree, and appropriately so. The chemistry between them — Haagmans also did a few shows with The Machine when they were between bassists, so the two are well familiar with each other — becomes part of the full-band persona with Frederix and von Berg‘s likewise noteworthy contributions.

Nuances like the maybe-backwards loops of low end after seven minutes into “Das Schwarze Munster” and the voice-push in the later choruses of “Same New” enrich the spaciousness overarching throughout, and the grunge-informed languid roll of “Reborn” should offer a thrill to those listeners who hold Sungrazer‘s output dear even as it branches off from that to chase its own ends. Positioned between “Share My Sun” and “Same New,” “A New Bro Rider” has an inevitable grounding effect, following a single bouncing progression for about three minutes without the need for much else around that until it comes apart near its end and the drums snap into the start of “Same New,” fluid and pastoral, clear in sound and what the instruments are doing and all the more you’re-in-the-room with the Dutch spoken between some of the songs. Above all other concerns, Live at Bankastudios feels committed to organically representing this version of The Whims of the Great Magnet has to offer an audience/listenership.

And that too might be part of why it feels so much like a showcase of potential between the in-moment immersion, abiding sweetness of melody and mostly relaxed grooves; because part of what resonates from Live at Bankastudios is the sense of a beginning. That runs counter to the fact that Haagmans has been putting out songs under the banner of The Whims of the Great Magnet since 2012, but it’s true nonetheless, and crucially, it’s not just about his bringing Eering into the mix, or von Berg or Frederix. It’s about what the four of them conjure as a unit. Live at Bankastudios is almost humble in how it highlights the character of this version of The Whims of the Great Magnet, and of course there’s no guarantee they’ll ever do anything more together — all the more reason to put this out, frankly — but even the fleeting nature of an outing like this that happened while it was happening and then was over and (sooner or later) everyone went home feels like a story only starting to be told.

One hopes it turns out to be precisely that, if it needs to be said, but in case the Great Magnet pulls Haagmans in another direction, the ephemeral nature of Live at Bankastudios makes it all the more a special moment to have captured in the first place. The lesson — which becomes to let the future be what it will and focus on now — is not lost, even if that does prove to be something of a challenge.

The Whims of the Great Magnet, Live at Bankastudios, Maastricht, 22-12-2023 (2024)

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Tags: Gronsveld, Live at Bankastudios Maastricht 22​-​12​-​2023, The Netherlands, The Whims of the Great Magnet, The Whims of the Great Magnet Live at Bankastudios Maastricht 22​-​12​-​2023, Unsigned bands

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