Amsterdam collective Personal Trainer have announced their third album, Human Assholes, due for release on September 4 via Bella Union, alongside the arrival of buoyant new single ‘Hole’, a track that encapsulates the band’s ability to balance offbeat humour with emotional uncertainty.
Following the critical acclaim of 2024’s Still Willing, Human Assholes finds frontman Willem Smit and company taking a more collaborative approach to songwriting. Rather than building songs piece by piece on a computer, the band returned to writing together in the same room, using acoustic guitar as the starting point and allowing ideas to evolve through shared experimentation. The result is an album shaped as much by spontaneity as intention.
New single ‘Hole’ reflects that process. Opening with handclaps and bursts of woodwind before crashing into jagged guitars, the song races forward with an infectious energy while its lyrics portray someone gradually losing their grip. Smit describes it as “a happy sounding sad song aiming for gold,” noting that what began as the shortest song on the record unexpectedly grew into something more expansive after he stumbled upon an entirely new second half. There is a hilariously wacky shrimp-filled accompanying video made by Hotel Modern.
That willingness to embrace accidents has become central to Personal Trainer’s identity. Over the past decade, the Amsterdam outfit have steadily built a reputation as one of the Netherlands’ most inventive indie bands, transforming from local underground favourites into international touring artists after signing with Bella Union. Their music rarely follows predictable structures, instead thriving on sudden detours, layered instrumentation and melodies that emerge from apparent disorder.
The title Human Assholes may initially suggest cynicism, but the creative philosophy behind the record points elsewhere. After several years of almost constant touring, the band arrived at the realisation that songs are never truly finished and performances are never definitive. That sense of openness permeates the new material, with each track remaining loose enough to evolve while retaining the immediacy of a band playing together in a room.
With UK and European headline dates and festival appearances scheduled throughout the coming months, Personal Trainer continue to expand well beyond Amsterdam’s independent music scene. If ‘Hole’ offers an accurate preview, Human Assholes looks set to build on the restless creativity that has steadily become the band’s calling card.
Pre-order the album HERE.
