Compared to debut EP , Grote Geelstaart, the storytelling on Wij Zinken became much more of a point of emphasis. He says that working alongside producer Tom Gudde has made their writing process more streamlined, keeping the band from overloading the songs with too many bells and whistles. “I feel that if we were to produce our songs entirely on our own, we’d never finish,” Jeppe says.

Now more confident in their sound design, plays with extremes: expansive versus concise, loud versus soft, and short versus longer songs. “It’s a compositional approach we’ve discovered just recently; rather than focusing solely on melody, rhythm, and harmony, we’ve started looking more at textures as a way to create and sustain interest in a track,” says Danny.

’s big slow-burner, “De Kering” (the Dutch term for storm surge barrier), expresses both the sheer reverence and the fear of being at the mercy of the sea’s massive currents, and you get the sense Grote Geelstaart plunges into something a little more deep-seated than their pet musical influences. “Back in the family home where Jesper and I grew up, if you were lying in your room, you could hear the boats passing on the Westerschelde,” Jeppe remembers. “You’d hear those massive container ships, just a faint sort of sub-drone.”

Because Grote Geelstaart’s live shows have been so staggeringly impressive, Luuk says he’s often confused by questions of whether the band members have a background in music college. “Where does that come from?” he wonders out loud. “Maybe the odd time signatures?” “I think we hit a sort of glass ceiling pretty quickly when it comes to our skills,” Jeppe adds. 

“But that ceiling keeps moving up,” Jesper notes. “That’s true, but you have to break through it every time,” his brother continues. “Then again, there are people with an insanely solid foundation, a sort of library of everything they can do, and they can just execute it effortlessly on the fly. And it works perfectly.”

Jesper thinks the overall growth of Grote Geelstaart can be attributed to the band setting high goals for themselves. “Finley, for instance, is a great drummer who keeps raising the bar, constantly practising and pushing himself,” he says. “That’s how you learn really fast.”