Latest CDs Reviewed

10c SHORT

The Lonely Colour Green
6/10

by Verushka Singh (courtesy Wicked Rock)

10c SHORT’S debut, The Lonely Colour Green, possesses melody that occasionally intoxicates. Surprisingly, the CD was masterfully recorded in just five days by RP Studios (after this Nelspruit band won a recording contract). The band name becomes rather ominous considering their disintegration not long after this release but I review as it deserves a footnote in South African music history.

The opener provides a glimpse of their attitude towards music; both playful and entertaining. The tracks ‘Heavy Weight’ and ‘Bus Stop Song’ are inspired ballads which emphasize the power of lyrical value, emotional content, good vocals and fluid instruments. Collectively, the CD imparts slivers of nostalgic loneliness which is appropriately delivered by a consistent, yet subtle, dramatic tone.

10c SHORT creates a safe place for easy listening but the elegance falls short of rebellion and innovation. Consequently, The Lonely Colour Green runs the risk of being lonely itself, relegated to background music instead of fulfilling the promise that it shows. Then again, it is mood music and Jack Johnson made a million out of such.

Top: The tracks ‘Syderman’, ‘Heavy Weight’ and ‘Starboard’.
Bottom: Perfectly mellow as an individual track but overall too quiet.
Hope: That this good foundation grows into something bigger for post band projects.



N.I.P

Full Of Myself
8/10

by Verushka Singh (courtesy Wicked Rock)



N.I.P (Nothing In Particular), a grass level band from the infamous Kempton Park in South Africa, displays a uniquely, magnanimous tone in Full of Myself (2007), a commercially applicable CD which rides high in the mainstream, rock ‘n roll circuit.

Jacques Ceronio, Karel Liebenberg, Shaun Neetling and Shawn Steinmann are the bodies and spirit responsible for Full of Myself which possesses a unique vocal that erupts from each track, shredding the tranquility of mundane teen-angst themes. N.I.P’s lyrical bilingualism (the songs interplay between English and Afrikaans) enhances their accessibility and perhaps, more importantly, exhibits the perception needed today: one of both diversity and individuality. ‘Jefferies Baai’, for instance, is sung against the comforting backdrop of sea gulls and ocean waves. The tone of the track coincides with the ebb and flow of waves reflecting the ocean’s simplistic beauty, colossal capacity for miscellany and melodious roar. It should be noted that the English tracks strike a less powerful tone than the Afrikaans ones but all the same improves N.I.P’s exposure which is evident with the debut single, ‘No More’ having already been #3 on MFM, #1 on KovsieFM and #6 on SAMP3.com.

Full of Myself does spawn off reminders of other bands but the intrinsic flow and sing-a-long capacity of every verse does proves N.I.P.’s capability to extend beyond the crowded mainstream sea of inanimate groups in the South African music industry.

www.myspace.com/thebandnip

Top: ‘No More’, ‘Jefferies Baai’ and ‘Wind’ are great tracks.
Bottom: More creative lyrics needed for both English and Afrikaans tracks.
Hope: That they get rare South African cash injection so that every campus student is aware that this CD exists




MÉNAGE À TROIS’

These Are Birthmarks

8/10

by Wicked Mike (courtesy of Wicked Rock)

“Take it or leave it, I’m the best version of me you’ll ever find. I’ll blow your mind.” And i want to believe her. Lead songstress, Auriel Lefebre, mesmerizes with wise words of melancholy, strength, fragility, intelligence, beauty and a fuck-off attitude. “Besides these tits of mine, everything but my spine, I can swear that I’m a bigger man.”

There is no doubt that bassist Garth de Meillon and drummer Jako Loots are essential lovers to this experimental birth called MÉNAGE À TROIS and that their musical dexterity, from folk to rock to funk, gets a full body from Wolmer Studios. Band highlights are ‘Stepping Through’, ‘Saturday Night Machines’ and ‘Voodoo’.

But as a writer, my soul is constantly sucked towards Auriel’s earnest words and the manner in which they’re delivered ("The truth wasn't easy so we called the truth a lie."). She is at her most poignant with the spoken lyrics of ‘34th’ and ‘Afterthought’. The former has gotten me reading Allen Ginsberg whilst the latter is the most profound musician statement about our troubled South Africa. The refrain “you’re gonna be raped and stabbed and shot at” echoes in my head long after the cd has finished, even when i’m standing in the sun.

For the uninitiated, I suggest that MÉNAGE À TROIS’s first birth is like putting a nude Fetish, Bjork and the Dresden Dolls in the same bed; downright clever, passionate, sexy and special. It’s amazing that a cd can be so sensationally warm yet violent at the same time. These Are Birthmarks epitomizes beauty in darkness. In a world of globalised stupidity, MÉNAGE À TROIS is a thankful reminder that a few, brave bands and artists exist…and are standing up.

www.myspace.com/menageatroissa

Top: Intelligent, outspokenness that I feared South Africa never possessed anymore. Bottom: I would’ve have loved to have heard instruments and vocals enraged (just once).

Hope: That internationally, they receive recognition from the Dave Matthews’ crowd as something more spectacular.



THE NEW ACADEMICS
City of Strange
7/10
by Verushka Singh



THE NEW ACADEMICS have become a hope of the South African music industry by extending the market for rock. City of Strange delves into the arena of hip-hop for those that love a vibe, jazz for the lovers of the soul and rock for head-bangers. In less talented hands, these genres would be at war with one another but solid choruses, cunningly constructed lyrics and good musicianship bind them together. Spearing this funk rock are Joe Penn (vocals, sax and lyrics), Dave Baudains (guitars), Martin Labuschagne (bass) and Howie Combrink (drums).

The nostalgic influences experienced by the band’s relocation from Cape Town to Johannesburg are tangible, expressing the loneliness and incongruity they share through their evolution of spirit, place and perception. Passion stews styles. Track 3, the masterful ‘Chunky’, boasts an astute use of verse, expressing a witty yet mischievous side to a band which deliberately flashes it’s listeners with spasms of intellect.

I doubt that everyone will grasp THE NEW ACADEMICS’ enthusiastic interpretation of music but, for me, it is a rock of creationism. My only dispute lies in repetition. Sometimes the tracks seem to melt into one another, making it difficult to distinguish which is which. If only there were more moments of genius such as ‘Chunky’, ‘Spiral’ and ‘Would Smoke’. Even alone, those deserve the band a standing ovation.

Top: Creative hybrid.
Bottom: Will the mass public understand how clever this is?
Hope: I want to see this translated live.



HABIT TO
Secrets to a Triangle
8/10
sinning with Wicked Mike

What a relief! Fours years of amazing live performances have finally
compounded into a much anticipated feature mysteriously entitled Secrets
to a Triangle.

HABIT TO are sensational with their step-to-the-side delivery of
alternate, prog enthused, rock 'n roll. Jazz and classical training combines
with a love for heavy to steer clear of the mainstream whilst remaining
extremely accessible. That a 3-piece can deliver such a bullish sound
means that each band member gives 100%. Andrew Stent thrums the bass
passionately whilst Dale Wardell's drum sticks have mastered whispers and
thunders. Chillie Stent (yes, there are good genes here) eats the air
and breathes it out beautifully onto her electrifying guitar.

All tracks are devotions to the heart of music but my favourite secrets
are the pounding 'Eden', the many-layered 'Before You Go', the
sing-a-long 'Cast In Stone', the psychological 'House Without Knives' and the
multi-vocalled 'May Night Sky'.

Having won the biggest band competition in 2006, in their home city of
Durban, HABIT TO are known locally but with this product they deserve
union with conversations about great bands such as Riverside, Neal Morse
and Pain of Salvation. Sensational!




FOKOFPOLISIEKAR
As Jy Met Vuur Speel Sal Jy Brand
7/10
by Verushka Singh (courtesy of Wicked Rock)

FOKOFPOLISIEKAR debuted in April 2003 with As Jy Met Vuur Speel Sal Jy Brand, an EP which ultimately dubbed them as Afrikaans rock rebels. Their self-composed lyrics have cut to the heart of their generation by bleeding out the intellectual commoner’s deepest thoughts and social inadequacies. FOKOFPOLISIEKAR’s mocking upbeat tone of guitars, played by Hunter Kennedy and Johnny de Ridder, and drums by Jaco (Snakehead) Venter, interweave into a sound of pure frustration, hurt and anger.

Of all the tracks ‘Verklaar’ hits home with the most strident plea; ebbing and flowing with emotion and energy. This track’s balancing act of desperation and in-your-face ridicule plays well to the ear whilst reprimanding the Afrikaaner community for their self-promoting attitudes in which they are consistently editing out their moral and social inequities. ‘Hemel op die Platteland’ stings its audience with abrasive, rhetorical questions criticizing intelligence, religion and Afrikaaner culture. Aberdeen (the referral), for those who don’t know, is a small industrial community which disregards its size by consistently adapting, aiming for the future.

FOKOFPOLISIEKAR cuts deep with perceptions of the South African Afrikaans community being stuck in the past: immobile, ineffective and invisible when compared to the rest of the world. Simultaneously, each track slices through the windows of tradition to show that there is a better world on the other side for those brave enough to climb through.