About The Serenes

The Serenes were an indie band from the town of Joure, The Netherlands. They were active from 1988 to 1995. Fronted by singers, guitarists and main songwriters, Theo de Jong and Paul Dokter, The Serenes' melodic jangle pop drew comparisons to bands like The Feelies, The Chills and early R.E.M.. The melancholic lyrics were said to be inspired by the serenity, silence and scenery of the band's home province of Friesland, in the northern Netherlands. The Serenes released two studio albums to critical acclaim but little commercial success: Barefoot and Pregnant (1990) and Back To Wonder (1993). The band's line-up underwent changes in between the two studio albums, the most vital personnel change being the departure of Paul Dokter, leaving De Jong as the sole frontman and songwriter for the second album. A year after the demise of The Serenes, De Jong re-emerged with a new band called Slide (1996). The name of this short-lived band soon became Simmer (1997-1998), with which De Jong released one studio album. Out-of-print and hard-to-find for many years, The Serenes' Barefoot and Pregnant album saw a 2013 re-release on Excelsior Recordings' RE: imprint, with a bonus disc of demos of outtakes entitled 'The Blurred, Concealed and Declined Songs of The Serenes'.