Balthazar - Sand (LP)

Balthazar’s fifth album, Sand, arrived on 26 February 2021 through Play It Again Sam, and it still feels like the late night the band has been edging toward for years. The Belgian outfit has always balanced candlelit melancholy with a sly groove, but here they settle into it with a confidence that suits them. The title is a neat touch, a nod to time slipping through your fingers, and the songs lean into that mood with a mix of velvet textures and little jolts of rhythm that keep you from drifting off entirely.

At the centre are the voices of Maarten Devoldere and Jinte Deprez, a long-running double act with contrasting shades. Devoldere’s baritone has the louche charm that powered his Warhaus records, while Deprez, who records solo as J. Bernardt, brings an airy lift and a knack for a hook. On Sand those worlds meet in a way that never feels stitched together. The vocals trade places, then lock in, and the band builds rooms around them with strings, keys and sly basslines that glow like streetlights after rain.

The singles set the tone. On A Roll is all slinky motion, bass coursing under clipped guitar and a half-smile melody that sticks. Losers glides in on an elegant swing, the kind of tune you could imagine on a small club stage where the band plays to a tight, attentive crowd. You Won’t Come Around pulls back to a soft ache, the vocal hovering over brushed percussion and a slow bloom of strings. It is a reminder that Balthazar never chase drama with volume. They write small details that earn their weight.

Listen closely and the rhythm section does quiet heavy lifting. Simon Casier’s bass never hogs the spotlight, it shapes the songs from underneath, while Michiel Balcaen’s drums play with restraint that still drives. When the strings arrive they feel considered, not pasted on for grandeur. There are little nods to classic soul and lounge pop, but it never turns pastiche. The band have always been crate diggers in spirit, taking textures they love and nudging them into their own orbit.

Hourglass is a neat touchpoint for the record’s theme, time and the push pull of desire. The arrangement ticks and swells, then breathes out, as if the song is measuring itself. Linger On feels like a late highlight, unhurried but quietly insistent, the melody circling until it finds a landing. Even when the band leans into a bigger chorus, the mix keeps space around the notes so you can hear the guitar scrape and the breath between lines. That space is where these songs live.

If you came on board with Fever in 2019, Sand feels like the next morning, blinds half open, the groove cleaned up and the colours slightly cooler. The writing is lean, the hooks sneak up rather than announce themselves, and the whole thing has that grown in confidence you get from a group that knows its palette. You can hear the lessons from the side projects too, the Warhaus smoke and the J. Bernardt sheen, folded into the group’s natural chemistry.

Sand is one of those records that rewards a proper listen, needle down and the room to itself. On vinyl the low end sits warm and close, and the strings feel more tactile, like wood and bow rather than a soft pad. It is a great case for picking up Balthazar vinyl if you like your indie pop with a late night pulse. If you are hunting for Sand vinyl or looking to buy Balthazar records online, this one earns shelf space right next to Fever and Thin Walls. I have spotted copies tucked in the new arrivals at a Melbourne record store or two, and it is the kind of album that tends to walk out once someone plays a side in the shop. Good luck holding onto it if your mates are around, you will be asked to flip it again. For collectors chasing Balthazar albums on vinyl, or folks browsing vinyl records Australia wide, Sand is both an easy recommendation and a steady grower.

What makes it stick is the way Balthazar continue to deal in restraint without turning static. The songs sway, blink, then catch you open, and that dual vocal heart never stops giving the melodies an extra tilt. It is stylish music with feeling, and for a band five albums in, that is a lovely place to be.