Long Fling is the collaborative project of Willem Smit, frontman of Personal Trainer, and Pip Blom of, predictably, Pip Blom. Across ten years in their relationship, they wrote and recorded the self-titled album. At first the process was not easy with them both being unable to let go of their creative habits, yet over time they learnt how to work together. The finished work is not the fantasy of true and simple love, but the complication of entangled heart strings.
The record starts with ‘Pig’ which does not slowly let the audience into their lives, rather it jumps right in, with lyrics such as ‘Remember that time we had Chinese for breakfast and you threw up in the sink’ and ‘We take a shower, you dropped your ring in the drain / Your mother made it when your father left her.’ Straight away, love is not painted as simple with Blom singing ‘You’re a pig and you know it / A lovely waste of time.’ The vocals are not simple either, it is not you sing the verse and I the chorus, or I have one song you next. Instead, Smit and Blom keep the audience on their feet with who will be singing the next line. Sometimes they both sing different lyrics concurrently which mirrors the complexity of the lyrical themes.
Long Fling Press Photos
This is contrasted with the songs sonically which are minimalist in nature, just like the great cover art. It is very playful, for instance in ‘Mouse House’, the drums welcome the other instruments in, while a cacophonous noise sometimes appears interrupting the riff. In ‘Weird Peace’, the visceral synth makes your heart drop like on a rollercoaster. Smit seems to sing about Blom saying ‘You are everything you thought you would be back as a child’ and ‘I feel like criticizing everything you did that night, I should be over the moon.’ Fast guitars start ‘Cool Bottle Water Park’ which has a catchy tight rhyme scheme on the chorus, while ‘Shoes’ ends with guitars squealing like race cars. The feedback opens up to a peak at Smit and Blom recording.
‘Tossed’ is the warmth of home with its reference to household objects such as ‘a stack of unpaid bills’, ‘a pile of mouldy bread’ and ‘a broken bathroom door.’ It is remarkably unromantic in the traditional sense. Yet it holds knowingness, the strange habits of a loved one that make them so enduring. The final track ‘Peter Dickens’ features the messiness of existence as well as an Omnichord. It offers a split perspective. Blom starts by singing ‘I’ve been looking way too long for my keys’ while Smit states ‘I’ve been marking all the words in my notebook, they’re not special anymore / She’s been rummaging around in the bedroom, I’ve been staring at the floor.’
Long Fling could have been another carbon copy collection of love songs, instead the album feels lived in. It is the imperfections and monotony of everyday life which is highlighted in this project and what makes it special. The record will be released on Friday 10th October and you can catch them playing at The Hope & Ruin on 15th October for their limited tour.
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