As I was working this weekend, a friend posted a message about a new band that was making waves in Pretoria, The Klubs.
The group came out of the disbanding of the much-loved local indie rock band We Are Charlie.
Knowing We Are Charlie quite well, I was expecting a similar sound from The Klubs, but instead I was amazed at how radically different this new band was.
Whereas We Are Charlie’s sound was the straight forward, gleeful feel-good rock you would maybe hear during the credit scenes of an indie movie, The Klub’s territory is decidedly punk.
The lyrics had changed from naïve, witty optimism, to cynical messages steeped in nihilism.
The evidence should have already been there in the names of their albums.
We Are Charlies’ debut extended-play (EP) is titled with an almost cliché Yard Sale, while The Klubs went with the more blunt Cult Party Pt.1 Male Plague.
Songs went from Hey Friend to FFS and Loosen the Crown.
Punishing base lines and distorted guitars had now replaced the jangly, radio-friendly guitar playing of the first band.
The inventive drumming of We Are Charlie had made way for typical fast and unrelentingly loud punk drumming.
The trio had gone from being your best friend to the schoolyard bully with a foul temper and sharp tongue.
This is a good thing, as it reminded how alive and versatile the South African rock scene is if you look in the right places.
We have more popular bands, like Desmond and the Tutus and December Streets, who are heavily inspired by American West Coast rock.
We also have great Afrikaans bands, like Spoegwolf, who, contrary to what their name would suggest, write beautiful, deeply personal ballads.
Bands like The Parlotones and Seether have become so big in America that they packed up and relocated, only visiting us for tours or big festivals.
Prime Circle took the American ’90s grunge sound and gave it a distinctly South African sound.
Springbok Nude Girls was perhaps the first alternative South African band to receive recognition in America and Europe and their influence can be heard in a number of South African bands, old and new, thanks largely to Arno Carsten’s clever songwriting and the unique sound that a saxophone brings to a rock band.
And this scene is growing, whereas most of the bands come from Pretoria and Johannesburg, we now see bands and interesting sounds coming from all over the country.
I think it is safe to say that we have one of the most unique metal scenes in the world with a family band who dress up like pigs on stage, an Afrikaans metal band named Kobus! and one of the world’s most exciting death metal bands coming from Soweto, where the band members paint themselves to look like corpses.
The metal and rock scene is one where people are united under their love for the music and the issues the country faces seem to disappear, even if it’s just for one evening.
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