The trick to peeling an orange in a single, unbroken spiral isn’t speed; it’s controlling the exact amount of pressure before the skin snaps. On their full-length debut, Peeling An Orange In Just One Go, Rotterdam four-piece Library Card-vocalist Lot vanTeylingen, guitarist Mitchell Quitz, bassist Kat Kalkman, and drummer Emre Karayalçin– apply that same tense, deliberate geometry to noise-rock. What begins as tight, nervous discipline inevitably gives way to a messy, cathartic tear and the band makes sure you feel every part of that tear.
That tension manifests first as a crawl, then as a tear. On ‘Sysaphus’ Library Card turns existential repetition into a heavy, grinding rhythm. The song feels like watching someone push a boulder up a hill just to watch it roll right back down. But ‘People Pleaser’ refuses to stay quiet. Driven by Quitz’s jittery guitar work and van Teylingen’s unraveling vocal delivery, it tackles the absurdity of social compliance until the polite veneer splits at the seams, dissolving into one of the album’s most visceral, abrasive climaxes.
The record’s final act trades sharp, sudden anger for a deep, lingering malaise. ‘One Week of Staring at the Ceiling’ pulls back the tempo entirely, using expansive ambient space and Quitz’s bleeding guitar chords to simulate paralyzed time. It serves a necessary breather before the explosive finale, ‘Dog Barking in the Distance,’ pulls all four musicians into a chaotic, feedback-laced crescendo. Here, van Teylingen’s delivery and the band’s restless instrumentation converge. It transforms the background noise into a devastating, lingering roar that brings Peeling An Orange In Just One Go to an unforgettable end.
Ultimately, Library Card’s debut succeeds because it never cheats the emotional stakes of its premise. The album captures the messy fragile reality of trying to hold yourself together under relentless train and the sheer relief of letting go. It leaves a lasting sting, marking the arrival of a band unafraid of their own friction.
Upcoming Live Shows
6 November – Lorient (FR) – Indisciplinées Festival
07 November – Rennes (FR) – Kool Thing
28 November – Lille (FR) – L’Aeronef
03 November – Amsterdam (NL) – Paradiso
04 November – Groningen (NL) – Vera
12 December – Rotterdam (NL) – Rotown
16 December – Utrecht (NL) – EKKO
17 December – Nijmegen (NL) – Merleyn
18 December – Deventer (NL) – Walhalla
19 December – Breda (NL) – Mezz
27 March – Brussels (BE) – La Source
24 April – Bristol (UK) – The Lanes
25 April – London (UK) – Shacklewell Arms
26 April -Tourcoing (FR) – Le Grand M
27 April – Paris (FR) – Nouveau Casino
28 April – Mérignac (FR) – Le Krakatao
29 April – Rennes (FR) – Ubu Club
30 April – La Roche-sur-Yon (FR) – Quai M
Follow Library Card on bandcamp | facebook | instagram | spotify | website | youtube