Strange Boys: Be Brave (Just Music)
There is something about that garage-rock sound. When I am listening to the Count Five, the Monks, the Sonics or the 13th Floor Elevators something makes me just want to throw myself around the room until I hurt myself. Quite possibly it’s the raw, unabridged energy in this music that fires me up. Anyway, listening to Strange Boys’ sophomore album, Be Brave, gave me that feeling.
It’s a dirty, gritty rock ‘n roll record that sounds as though it could have come out of Austin, Texas, in 1965 rather than 2010. But it did come out in 2010 and if you are looking for the latest genre-bending hip thing, this is not the record for you. But if you are looking for a killer rock ‘n roll record that owes as much to the 1960s garage-rock legends mentioned above as it does to Bob Dylan’s conversion to electric guitar-led blues and country rock, this might be just up your alley. Fans of Deer Tick, the Walkmen and the Felice Brothers should lap this up. Now I’m off to bandage that bleeding elbow. — Lloyd Gedye
Meshell Ndegeocello: Devil’s Halo (Just Music)
Meshell Ndegeocello has to be one of music’s great talents. She is a singer, songwriter, rapper, poet, bassist and keyboard player. But she is also anti-establishment, keeping a low profile and known only by those who actively go out to find her music.
Her latest offering, Devil’s Halo, is her eighth album and just like the seven before it, it’s banging. The album is eclectic, crossing genres as it slips from rock and pop to funk, effortlessly captivating you with every switch. In true Ndegeocello style Devil’s Halo doesn’t conform to anything you hear on the radio. It’s deep, eerie, honest, beautiful and temperamental all at the same time. Her remake of Love You Down, a cover of a song by Ready for the World from 1986, is mind-blowing. Ndegeocello’s voice makes the sound painfully seductive and the lingering bass and guitar pierces through your heart. Devil’s Halo doesn’t require you to touch the fast-forward button, which is very rare these days. I was hooked from start to finish. — Karabo Keepile
Various Artists: Best of the Bands (EMI)
This compilation is not totally genre-specific — rather, it decides that if someone likes one track, he or she is likely to like another. But this doesn’t necessarily work. My mother, for example, likes Sigur Rós, who finish the album with another unpronounceable track, but she isn’t too fond of Blur.
Likewise, someone who likes Babyshambles’s You Talk isn’t necessarily going to be a fan of Hot Chip’s One Pure Thought. Once you acknowledge that this album is not for fussy people, but for those who happily enjoy the broad offerings of radio rock, it’s easier to understand. Bat for Lashes is the only female-led band on the album — a bit sad when they could have included numerous other lady-led bands. As far as compilations go, this is not the edgiest or most exciting mix-tape around, but it will make do for those who are happy with a bit of everything. — Ilham Rawoot
Various Artists: SA Rock Gold (Universal)
Fans of rock music in South Africa will more than likely know the name Benjy Mudie, either through his radio show or his reissue label, Retro Fresh, which has made some classic South African albums available on CD. Mudie’s latest offering is this triple-CD compilation, which traces South African rock from the 1960s through to the 1990s.
Disc one offers psych-rock from Freedom’s Children and Suck, rhythm and blues from the Otis Waygood Band, glam-rock from the Radio Rats, punk-rock from Wild Youth and reggae from Flash Harry. Disc two offers some more punk-rock from the Asylum Kids, rockabilly from Psycho Reptiles, goth-rock from No Friends of Harry and some funk-rock from Evoid and the Cherry Faced Lurchers.
It’s not all great, though, with Celtic Rumours’ Slow Rain and the Helicopters’ Mysteries and Jealousies providing the low moments. Disc three offers some early 1990s schlock-rock in the form of Squeal and Arapaho, but it also has classic tracks from Urban Creep, the Kerels and Blue Chameleon. As a history lesson, SA Rock Gold can be quite fascinating. You are bound to find something you have never heard before, but this hardly makes it an essential purchase. But with 52 tracks on three CDs, there is enough here to make at least one CD styled to your own taste. — LG