Six unsigned bands on one CD … THERESE OWEN=20 discovers the joys of Aural Sex
AURAL Sex _ or Soda Sex Fountain Part II _ is=20 finally available for public consumption. This=20 locally produced CD features six unsigned South=20 African bands _ who battled it out against at least=20 20 other groups at a competition held at Wings Beat=20 Bar in Johannesburg earlier this year.=20
All the bands hail from Gauteng, with the exception=20 of Free Taxi who are Durban-based. Each has=20 recorded two songs for Aural Sex, which encompasses=20 metal, Afrikaans punk, grunge and pure hardcore=20 rock.=20
At the launch of the CD at Wings, each of the bands=20 played a set, and experiencing them live, then=20 listening to them on CD, produced some interesting=20 comparisons.
Albino Tarbugz, a three-piece outfit with a female=20 bassist, must be one of the most audacious rock=20 groups on the planet. Unable to play their=20 instruments (or maybe it’s just because they don’t=20 give a damn), these white, middle-class Afrikaans=20 kids are the anarchists on the CD. Their songs Dead=20 End and Dead Roads are great fun and their stage=20 act is highly amusing. But, while the cluttered=20 noise of their live act may irritate some people,=20 their recorded songs are superb _ and make more=20 sense.=20
Free Taxi are another three-piece band that sound=20 better in the studio. Lead singer Jonathan Chappe=20 often strains to make his voice heard above the=20 band’s hallmark hard, driving guitars, while on the=20 CD his vocals are deeper and more resonant. Their=20 aggressive rock sound adds a strong dimension to=20 the quality of the CD.=20
Unfortunately the other hardcore band, Ded=20 Reckoning, are far better live. Their guitars can=20 barely be heard on the CD, but in the flesh Ded=20 Reckoning are one of the tightest, most energetic=20 metal bands in the country, as well as the=20 happiest. Not for them the pissed-off, grimacing=20 bad attitude of your average metal band. These guys=20 actually grin and rave on stage.=20
From=20the fine art of metal to the two weakest bands=20 on the CD _ Tinheads and Damn the Icebergs. Please=20 guys, don’t give up your day jobs. The lead singer=20 of Tinheads is a wannabee Eddie Vedder in a Las=20 Vegas Elvis Presley body. The deluded dude prances=20 around stage like “woah girls _ check out the=20 ultimate sexmachine.” Not. Their music is average=20 cock rock, both on stage and in the studio.
For some reason all the big guns in Johannesburg=20 seem to think that Damn the Icebergs are tops.=20 Hmph. This band plays sets of over an hour long _=20 song after boring song. And their songs on Aural=20 Sex, while very well produced, are filled with=20 Roger Waters-style late Eighties angst. Although on=20 Cycad they express the appealing desire to gather=20 world leaders in one room and then bam! blow it sky=20 high.
Biscuit are the final band on the album. These cute=20 boys rock with bouncing energy on stage and=20 innovative experimentation in the studio. Their=20 songs are a mixture of catchy pop with pure rock=20 attitude. Definitely one of the most promising=20 bands in the country.
In all, Aural Sex, with its excellent studio=20 production, is a worthy addition to any record=20 collection.