Sorry, kid. is the singer/songwriter album he always wanted to make, but never dared to. Marinus de Goederen (hü-deren), aka a balladeer, sums up his latest album in one sentence.  For the follow-up to the critically acclaimed Where Are You, Bambi Woods? (2010) he finally followed in the footsteps of his heroes Bruce Springsteen, Tori Amos, Damien Rice and Joni Mitchell. All singer/songwriters with their heart on their sleeves. “They have taught me to be as honest as possible.”

After having made an album that seemed mostly about others, like Jackie Kennedy, porn star Bambi Woods and Matthew Shepard, for this album he felt the urge to go as deep as he could, inside of himself. Sorry, kid. became a pretty dark album about being alone and not being able to make a real connection with someone else. Some people might not find it very comfortable. But that was what he was going for. A bit dark, but very melodic.

“I never had a soul mate. That’s why I don’t fit in.” The first lines of ‘Why Hitler Loved His Dog’ are a slap in the face and represent one of the album’s darker songs. ‘A Little Rain Has Never Hurt No One’ sounds like an evergreen, a song that’s always been around, while ‘One Sunday’ can be labelled a murder ballad. ‘How I Hurt My Heels’ tells the story of a swing set accident.

As usual, De Goederen wrote the album all by himself, but for the first time he added a new title to his contribution, that of co-producer. He asked Martin Wenk (Calexico) and Martijn van Agt (Anouk) to play on the album and was also very pleased to work with the clarinetist and the string quartet of Holland’s number one orchestra: The Metropole Orchestra. De Goederen: “They cost me a fortune, but they were worth every penny of it!” After having begged his record company EMI Music to make an album distinct from his prior two, De Goederen financed the new album himself. “I didn’t want to make any compromises as I would have if Sorry, kid. was released on a major label.”

The second, bonus disc is a compilation of the two singles a balladeer released in The Netherlands and includes three extra songs, a few remixes plus ‘And So Is Love’, a cover song by Kate Bush.

a balladeer’s second album Where Are You Bambi Woods? (ZIP065 in the US) entered the Dutch Album Chart at #16 and was nominated for a Dutch Grammy award.  Having played at Holland’s biggest outdoor festival (Lowlands), a balladeer has also opened for such notable artists as Keane, Live, Beth Hart, Jay Brannan, etc.

Perhaps of most interest, on the Holland’s Next Top Model TV show, the music of a balladeer is heard each time a “Top Model” becomes teary eyed—a common occurrence!

Marinus de Goederen will be making appearances in the US this summer (west coast and New York) and radio promotion for the focus track ‘A Little Rain Has Never Hurt No One’ will begin in the middle of June.