The Springbok Nude Girls have called it a day and Saron Gas have departed for the greener pastures of New York — two big blows to the local rock industry. So is this, finally, the end of rock? Very unlikely.
Internationally, rock has made a impressive comeback in the past two years, with bands such as Lifehouse, Creed, Limp Bizkit and Staind trampling on the R&B and pop singles that previously ruled the music-chart roost uncontested.
In the same vein as Lifehouse and Creed come Jo’burg act Zen Arcade, who have independently released their debut album, Snowflake. It’s a short collection of seven finely crafted, well-written rock songs, kicking off with Ode, which has a bit of Pearl Jam and early U2 in it. Sister kicks up the dust with loads of lively guitars and the hit single Crazy over You is a catchy power ballad with rock and strings underpinning Iain McKenzie’s soulful vocals. There’s also Step Back, a cute and equally catchy song about self-worth and identity, and the album comes to an end with Take Out the Trash, a funky song with a solid rock riff and something to say about trashy and trashed people.
It’s a very impressive album (take note, record companies); hopefully it’s also a promise of bigger things to come from Zen Arcade.
Get Snowflake at www.oneworld.co.za, www.zenarcade.co.za and selected stores
Nianell Who Painted the Moon? (Fresh)
Here’s a Namibian-born singer and songwriter with a voice that takes you to Celine Dion, Sarah Brightman, Enya and their ilk. Nianell writes smooth-sailing folk and pop songs with Celtic influences and beautiful instrumental sections, showing off her impressive vocal range. Her subjects are people and emotions. Co-produced with the experienced Mauritz Lotz, this album appeals to a broad audience, though it’s maybe too tranquil as a whole to leave a lasting impression. — Riaan Wolmarans
Pink Floyd Echoes: The Best of (EMI)
Twenty-five years after John Lydon launched the overthrow of the old order with an “I hate Pink Floyd” T-shirt, EMI launches the two-CD Echoes with a massive marketing campaign. Older fans will supposedly be enticed by the CD-first inclusion of When the Tigers Broke Free, from The Wall soundtrack, and curious younger heads are to be seduced by the mysterious Floyd legacy in one handy package. Few of these tracks have been dulled by over-familiarity. Despite Lydon’s (much-retracted) protests, peak Pink Floyd never were an establishment band. Echoes traces their progress from Syd Barrett-era acid fantasists (See Emily Play) to pop boundary-busters (Arnold Layne, a 1967 celebration of tranvestitism) and anti-authoritarian existentialists (The Wall). The songs’ endurance lies not only in their musical resplendence but in the band’s uncanny ability to tap into the English psyche: one of morbidity, gloom and obsession with ailments and the passage of time. Unfortunately, Echoes’ determination to argue that Floyd’s creative fire wasn’t out by 1979 has resulted in several later tracks interrupting the otherwise magically transcendental flow. Floyd heads will also argue about the mystifying omissions (Julia Dream, Interstellar Overdrive … ), but there’s something quintessentially English about that. — Dave Simpson