traumahelikopter – Save Yourself (2023) Hi-Res

Bands that have traveled thousands of miles change often. Sometimes the guitars are hung on the willows. Members come and go. Band vans become nightliners, flashing fluorescent lights turn into huge floodlights. Or vice versa. Ambition and fun are sometimes two sides of the same coin.

trauma helicopter remains steadfast in its essence in this respect. The idiosyncratic trio from Groningen North has been leaning on one of the purest foundations of a band for more than ten years: friendship. Singer/guitarist Mark van der Ploeg, guitarist Daan van Dalen and drummer Roel van Berloo write songs that speak to the troublemaker in the front of the pit, but also to the introverted drifter in the back of the room.

These two extremes come together more beautifully than ever on the fourth CD Save Yourself, produced by van Dalen, which will be released on January 20, 2023 by Excelsior Recordings. A poetic date: it is exactly 10 years after the band’s self-titled debut in 2013 made a smashing impression on an international scale.