The Fool Has Arrived is the new EP from Dutch artist Henk Johannes, who impresses especially on the sweltering, rocking lead single “Can’t Get Ya Outta My Mind.” Shifting from bluesy ardor to introspective charm, the track enamors in its mixture of moody and impassioned rock, marking a personal departure from his work with Money & The Man. “With Money & The Man, I think in terms of riffs, dynamics, and drive,” the artist explains. “With Henk Johannes, it almost always starts with a song. The tempo is slower, leaving more room for silence and nuance.”

The track wastes no time, immediately infusing bluesy guitar fuzz and a sweltering title-touting admission. “Can’t get ya outta my mind,” Johannes’ vocals exude, channeling a vocal tone that sits between Jimi Hendrix’s biting charisma and Michael Kiwanuka’s soulful smoothness. The initial bluesy ardor shifts to a more introspective charm in the “when the time goes by, wasting all my dreams” sense of anticipation and yearning. “Come on baby, see it through,” Johannes’ vocals beckon, as perspectives of breaking free from loneliness build with infectious momentum into the return of the title-centric hook.

Melding classic-rock prowess with a modern, punchy rock charisma — with shades of Arctic Monkeys and The Black Keys — “Can’t Get Ya Outta My Mind” stirs in its range of bluesy passion and more tender emotiveness. The latter is apparent as the final minute arrives, with the burning-heart accounts bolstered by a magnetic, soulful backing vocal presence as twangy guitars and steady rhythms interplay wonderfully. A hazy, guitar strum-led segment then moves into a final dose of fuzzy blues-rock ardor, bringing the excellent track to a fully satisfying close.

Stream the EP in full:

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This and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.

We discovered this release via MusoSoup.

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