“There are no genres – just good sincere music and bad music,” are some big ballsy words from a musician, but if there is one person to ring them true it is Belgian noise rock artist Pieter-Paul Devos. The man behind Kapitan Korsakov and Raketkanon has been a driving force in the Belgian rock scene for many years and his efforts have been acknowledged by such greats as Iggy Pop and Steve Albini (who recorded a number of his records). The man has a knack for legendary one-liners it seems. “Less Sgt. Pepper and more Revolver,” he says with a wink as he explains the sound of his new band NO PRISONERS. Combining the keen sense for songwriting of acts like Hüsker Du and Wipers with the melodic swagger of bands like Buzzcocks and Pixies, Watch Your Eyes is an affable collection of garage rock songs that will have you singing along in no time.

Arising from a creative bout of songwriting during lockdown, these four tracks see Devos move away from the experimentalism of his previous bands and into fresh garage pop territory. “Video Will Play After Ad” with its larger than life chorus will instantly send your spirit on a shockwave of squealing noise rock guitars and raspy vocal harmonies, while “If This is a Man’s World” will have you thrashing about whether you are a man, woman, or non-binary living in a man’s world – if this IS in fact a man’s world. Joined by Pieter De Wilde (drums), Leander van het Groenewoud (bass/backing vocals), and Harry Descamps (guitars/backing vocals), Devos manages to touch just about every nook and cranny a garage rehearsal space can possibly hold, whether by putting surf rock on steroids with breakneck punk anthem “I’d” or by rubbing shoulders with Eels or The Beatles on “Mouth to Mouth”.

With NO PRISONERS Devos comes closer to sincerity than ever before in his career. Over the honest instrumentals and crafty hooks, Watch Your Eyes paints an earnest picture of our daily struggles in a digitised society. The slightly tongue in cheek way they use the phrase “video will play after ad” to say life is ok is both ingenious and tragic. The same goes for the “I’ve got a lot of questions but the wrong search terms” that opens “I’d” or the “I do feel disconnected since mobile phones” of closer “If This is a Man’s World”. It’s in the words that Watch Your Eyes becomes all too real and it’s the melodies that make the message hit close to home. It makes you want to drop whatever it is you’re doing and just shout along, whether alone or with friends, and just forget about life for a moment.

In the words of Iggy Pop, “Belgium is key in the arts at the moment,” and with their undeniable energy and compositional craftsmanship NO PRISONERS are a rising star in a burgeoning rock scene. With its collection of gratifying riffs and larger-than-life choruses Watch Your Eyes is an instantly relatable affair for fans of anything loud, fun and hard rocking. Just press play!