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The alternative low-fi band Cradle started in 1994 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands as a solo-project of Johan Visschers (guitar/voice) after quitting darkwave band Flowers for Francis. Soon his brother Henk Visschers (bass guitar), drummer Peter Kahmann and Sylvia Hennequin (keys) completed the band. They played about everywhere around Holland and in some European countries. In 1999 Cradle recorded and released their self titled mini album on their own ETF label, proving their motto Less is more to be a successful one. With their overall minimalistic sound they know just how to build up tension. Johan s voice, filled with emotion, completes the compositions to raw but yet pure and fragile songs. Starting with the up-tempo and catchy When Love Is in Your Eyes you might think this is going to be an album listening away like some edgy pop music. Well, it s not. It s also hard to catch Cradle in one genre. In Great Open Dump some grunge influences may be present, which are completely gone in Ready, a track that breathes a gothic atmosphere and certainly is an inheritance of a band like Joy Division, the way the synth keeps up the tension and the drums, bass guitar and voice slowly lead you to dramatic guitar explosions. I Is They Is holds on to the dramatic sound but in an up-tempo form, ending up in a music box melody we all know, to enter Cry of Nature. In this acoustic song Cradle again is showing they completely control the art of minimalism. Besides that it seems that Johan is letting loose his emotions in his singing even more than on any track we heard before.