There is nothing particularly gentle about being introduced to WHOLES’ “Berlin.” The guitars scrape, the bass pushes forward, the drums refuse to sit still, and somewhere in the middle of it all, a surprisingly infectious chorus emerges. It is messy, loud and oddly inviting.
The Belgian band’s latest single sits at the intersection of indie rock, new wave, noise-punk and post-hardcore. There is an unmistakable 80s pulse beneath it, but WHOLES drag it somewhere considerably rougher, with nervous guitars and a rhythm section that keeps the track in perpetual motion. Against all this, the vocals remain comparatively restrained: gritty, ominous and almost vulnerable.
Then the chorus breaks through! Catchy without feeling polished, melodic without softening the track’s abrasive edges, it reveals a strong pop instinct hiding underneath the noise.
The song’s sense of instability extends into its imagery, with Berlin positioned “on the border of falling down” and placed within the unsettling world of a Swiss bank that has “sold your life.” The language of collapse, banking and borders turns the city into more than a location: it becomes a metaphor for disconnection, capitalist desire and the feeling of being trapped inside systems that keep demanding more. WHOLES make those ideas feel physical, building the same tension sonically through distortion, repetition and relentless momentum.
“Berlin” forms part of WHOLES/NOT WHOLES, a project in which five artists reinterpret WHOLES’ songs, extending the band’s fascination with distortion, rupture and transformation.
Following their 2025 debut A Mass In The Water, WHOLES sound increasingly comfortable in this unstable territory. “Berlin” is abrasive, melodic and exhilaratingly unsettled; a song that doesn’t just describe collapse, but builds its own little architecture of it!
