Emerging Sounds touched by the Saint

I attended the RBF Emerging Sounds Battle of the Bands competition on Monday night, held at Emperors Palace, because good friend’s of mine Saint Dragon (previously mentioned here on this blog) were on the bill. This ‘battle of the bands’ competition has been running for just over ten years now, with one winner chosen each year. Previous winners have been Tweak, Prime Circle, Freshlyground and Seether among others. I too have entered the competition in a couple of different bands, not really getting anywhere though. The competitions are organised by ardent SA music supporter Simon Foulds. Check out this article on MIO for some more info on the competiton and how it operates. Anyway, this was one of the weekly gigs of the first leg, I think, of the Johannesburg leg and there were three bands competing to go through to the next round, the monthly final. Three bands performed on Monday in the following order: Chaos Theory, Enfuse and Saint Dragon. Chaos Theory and Enfuse have a lot to learn – I’m not going to say much about them, because both bands were quite bad (and that’s putting things politely). To give you an idea of their musical styles Chaos Theory, led by a female vocalist, attempted to perform three covers in their set (by Metallica, Nirvana and the Deftones) with the emphasis on attempted, and Enfuse (www.enfuse.co.za and here on MySpace), another female led outfit, performed broody English/Afrikaans rock, but were not quite captivating enough to pull it off. Honestly, both bands are young and will hopefully improve. On the other hand, Saint Dragon were cool and on the night managed to claim first prize and progress through to the next round. Well done chaps. Catch Saint Dragon at their next gig if you’re into Weezer, Blink 182 or Jimmy Eat World. Visit www.saintdragon.com to find out more about the band and their upcoming gigs.

Cold War Kids on fire

Originally published by the Saturday Star, 31 March 2007
Cold War Kids
Robbers and Cowards
The European alternative music press have labelled the Cold War Kids the most exciting band to come out of America for a long time. This is not much of a statement to live up to, considering I can’t think of many noteworthy new alternative artists that have been borne of the States and recently found success in Europe. Having said this, Robbers and Cowards is a noteworthy album. It’s difficult to describe why though. It doesn’t sound entirely refreshing – the band borrow slightly from what Jack White is doing with his projects, the White Stripes and the Raconteurs, and singer Nathan Willet reminds us a bit of Jeff Buckley. But I think I’d peg it down to the fact that this album is on fire in its dynamism and electricity. Robbers and Cowards is well crafted and superbly delivered. It’s oozing with chemistry and appeal. The result is a highly stimulating prospect which warrants exploration.

Bloc Party’s a weekend in the sh*tty

Originally published by the Saturday Star, 31 March 2007
Bloc Party
A Weekend in the City
A Weekend in the City is Bloc Party’s second release. The group received a certain amount of acclaim, among fans of indie-rock at least, with the release of their debut Silent Alarm. This album sees Bloc Party attempting to attract a bigger, more mainstream audience. The album has been produced by Jacknife Lee, who has worked with U2 and Snow Patrol, and Lee’s particular influence can be felt throughout this release. The production is super slick, with big stadium-type choruses, which I think is not something this edgy underground act should have attempted – they don’t pull it off. Furthermore, guitars and drums are highly processed sounding more like samples rather than actual instruments. Lead vocals suffer the same consequence. Additionally, the lyrics are quite adolescent, which may appeal to a teen market, but I’m quite sure that this is unintentional and undesired. A Weekend in the City is an inadequate second release from a band initially deemed a ‘very important’ new act.

A Handful of Hurricanes a broody release

Originally published by the Saturday Star, 31 March 2007
Rose Kemp
A Handful of Hurricanes
Listening to a Handful of Hurricanes it’s evident that Rose Kemp is an accomplished musician with much musical experience – incredible considering she’s in her early twenties. Born into a musical family – her parents are Maddy Prior and Rick Kemp of the folk group Steeleye Span – Kemp has had an already long and more successful musical career than most could ever dream of. This is Kemp’s second solo full length release (her first was released in her late teens) and includes various styles of experimental rock, folk and a capella. Her voice is well trained and her arrangements mature. The album is intense, dark and broody, perhaps excessively so, and this is where it fails for me. I’m not going to judge an artist’s emotional outpouring but this is heavy listening. Listen to this when wanting to find a companion in your sadness, yet don’t expect to find any upliftment in this release.

Twisted Trees an underground affront

Originally published in the Saturday Star, 3 March 2007
Underground Railroad
Twisted Trees
It’s not often we hear French rock music. Mostly the French prefer to sing in their home language (and who could blame them?), which understandably means that their music would permeate a very small market here in South Africa. Underground Railroad is a French group, a trio, who choose to sing in English, with an American inflection, which makes for an interesting dynamic. The group, based in London, sound very much like American nineties grunge Gods Sonic Youth and Nirvana, yet lyrically the band portray an anti-American sentiment – as might be evidenced in the track Hollywood Whore. Other songs are devoted to youthful laments but still appeal to the more mature ear. Twisted Trees is an in your face, aggressive yet melodic, anti-establishment rock oeuvre. It’s a vicious, chaotic affront to your senses. While their brand of punk rock is not truly original, it’s refreshing, edgy and sounds like a slap in the face with a cold fish.

Clap your hands (and this time) say yeah

Originally published in the Saturday Star, 3 March 2007
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Some Loud Thunder
This is the American indie rock group, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s second release and it’s a good one. I have become accustomed to vocalist Alec Ounsworth’s nasal yelp and the circus-type nonsensical backdrop upon which he barks. Where the band’s debut heralded the arrival of a new dawn in independent music management, where artists could find success sans the backing of major record companies, Some Loud Thunder seems an attempt to estrange the band from the media folly that currently surrounds them. This is a good album and similar in essence to the band’s debut, yet it differs in certain elements. Where the first album was mostly an up-tempo jaunt, easy for indie fans to associate with, this is more broody, inward looking and melancholy. I believe this is a brave attempt by the band to develop their sound in a way that would avoid categorising them alongside the more mainstream indie-rockers, thus continuing to develop a truly unique voice within the genre maelstrom.

Arts and crafty

Originally published by the Saturday Star, 3 March 2007
Black Neon
Arts and Crafts
Arts and Crafts is the debut album from Brit Stephen Webster, who goes by the title Black Neon. Webster attempts to very bravely cater to two different audiences on this release. There are German like psych-pop songs interspersed among Brit-pop alternative-indie type compositions. I find the psych-pop songs reference too heavily the Krautrock scene of the seventies (Krautrock was a mix of Anglo-American post-psychedellic jamming, moody progressive rock, experimental classical and jazz). If you enjoyed Krautrock, this might appeal to you, however, I found these tracks to be too simple and cheap – like something you might come across selling for R29,99 in the bargain bin at your local CD store, alongside Jamaican Mo Covers the Sounds of Bob Marley on his Xylophone. The other tracks sound slightly similar to what Blur might have penned and released as B-sides. Arts and Crafts might be an adept title for this release, as it’s probably something you would pick up at an arts and crafts type store, but it’s not for those with more refined auditory tastes.