That’s right boys and girls, your Tiger pal’s been busy putting together another suh-lick 8Tracks mix to blow your fragile little minds clear into the weekend, ffffffffffuck yeah!
This time around I thought I’d focus on the fairer sex because in my humble opinion there is a fuckload of very cool, fresh and genuinely incredible rock music being made by girls at the moment.
So here are 18 tracks from a whole buncha bands you may never have heard of (Anna Calvi? Cults? Marissa Nadler? Savages? The Kills? Hello? Is this thing on?) because I’m rad like that and I think you guys will really like this stuff.
So put your headphones on, throw some whisky from that hipflask I know you keep under your desk into your morning coffee and let’s get this muthufukkin party started.
On a nameless, murky night at Carfax In Joburg I stood utterly transfixed watching Inge Beckmann strut like Marla Singer on acid onstage with the other members of Lark.
It was like she was conjuring the elements, whipping them up into a maelstrom of human limbs thrashing in syncopated unison. It was a wonder to behold.
After she’d finished performing I ran into her in the crowd and drunkenly confessed that she was the sexiest woman I’d ever seen play live. So when I heard she’d formed Beast with the legendary Louis Nel and Rian Zitsmann from Taxi Violence and Sasha Righini from The Plastics, I had to get my hands on their album.
It wasn’t easy. As badass as the name “Beast†is, there are at least another two bands that share the same name (one being a Korean boy band. Siff). All I was able to find was the video for “Fill The Hole†a track in which Beckman’s singing takes on an almost cat-like wail that had me wondering whether she’d taken things a little far with her new band.
Then via a lucky coincidence I tracked Beast down on Twitter and downloaded their full debut Smoke Swig Swear and, one listen in, I was nodding my head, utterly transfixed and grinning from ear to ear.
Sick Tracks:
Jesus, where to begin? The eight tracks on Smoke Swig Swear are packed with a ton of thumping, seething, meaty hooks and “fuck yeah!†moments that tease like a stripper and kick like a mule.
It’s not often I lump this kind of praise on an album, but I’d almost say that every track on Smoke Swig Swear will melt your fucking face off.
First off, this is a band of only bass guitars which Nel and Zitsmann wield like twin sledgehammers, lending the album this deliciously dark tone throughout that crawls under your skin and makes a home for itself.
Add Righini’s dextrous, awe-inspiring work behind the kit you have a band that is basically ALL rhythm section. These guys play so tight you’d need a crowbar to separate their beats and riffs from one another. It’s filthy, mutant blues laced with everything that was cool about rock music in the 90s.
The album opens with “Fill The Holeâ€, the album’s most abrasive track by far. It’s a baptism by fire, it’s the band dialing shit up to 11, breaking you in hard and fast as Beckmann wails “Draw a hand / Draw the dead / Draw a heart / Draw a head / Lift the hand / Raise the dead / Eat her heart / Roll her headâ€.
“Airport Deport Abort†is sheer songwriting genius. With a bassline reminiscent of Bjork’s seminal “Army Of Meâ€, this track lurches with thinly disguised malice – it’s complex, expertly arranged and custom built to prove beyond doubt that this band is not here to fuck around.
“Walls†starts out pensive and quickly builds to a frenzied climax as Beckmann sings “I’m in the well / I’m in the black garden / Rolling down a hill / Pulling gunk out of your mouth againâ€.
I could go on – I could wax lyrical about the soaring chorous of “The Grapeâ€, the beautiful slow-build of “Man In Betweenâ€, the undeniable, bluesy rock ‘n roll badassery of “Smoke Swig Swearâ€, but this review would run on for days.
And then, after everything that is Smoke Swig Swear, the sheer agony and ecstasy of this undeniably powerful album, the band drops “Hand Of God†that lands with atom-bomb force as Beckmann sings “And all the idols will topple over / And the fair maidens will be reformed / And all the men will know their worth / When the earth implodesâ€.
Should You Give A Shit?
Fuck me, have you been reading this review?!?!
Get this album. Stab it directly into your heart like an adrenaline-filled syringe and sit tight as shit gets interesting.
Then, when you’re done falling sickly in love with this album, go out and watch them play live. Get the fuck off the 5FM bandwagon and wonder off the beaten path for a change.
Now that I’ve recovered from the “IDFFLT†state that I found myself in last week, it’s time to get things back on track with my second Rocking The Daisies Must-See Bands post.
Originally I was going to break this festival down stage by stage until I realised how much work that would be on my part.
Instead, I decided to go day by day rather, a much less painful option.
So the first post pretty much covers everything for Thursday as there’s only going to be one stage up and running. Come Friday however, the festival will start coming alive and when it does, these are the bands you need to check out.
One more disclaimer before I start though – all the bands I’m recommending are playing on the main stage.
Yes, I know how lame that is, most people will just go to the main stage by default so I probably don’t need to big up any of the bands playing there, but holyfuckingshit, I’m writing this post on a machine that crawls like a goddamned dying snail, it’s already taken me THREE FUCKING HOURS just to find the videos below.
As much as I’d love to give other bands and artists from the Beach Bar Stage, the Nu World Beat Barn and the Electro Stage some love, that will literally take me another ten hours at the very least.
If ANYONE reading this knows other sick bands and artists performing on the Friday, drop a video link in the comments section below and if I get enough, I’ll write a follow-up post to this one.
Moving on, Friday kicks off at 1pm on the main stage with the Black Handed Kites. This band will make for a perfect, chilled start to the day with their acoustic guitar / banjo folky vibes. Check out their video for “Upâ€.
The next band I’d keep an eye out for on the main stage is Beatenberg, who are stepping up to do their thang at 3.10pm.
They’ve got a nice acoustic pop vibe, easy listening kinda stuffs to zone out to and get lost in. Really liked the sound of their track “Scorpionfishâ€, check it:
Anyone planning to indulge in some shrooms or anything else of a hallucinogenic nature should probably give the main stage a wide berth at around 5.20pm when The Brother Moves On take to the stage.
Or not. Depending on what you can handle…
These guys are like the Mars Volta of African music. Massively experimental, they won’t be everyone’s cuppa tea but I’ll definitely make an effort to see these guys. Should be pretty entertaining to watch if nothing else.
Of all the bands playing the main stage on the Friday, the first one to really make me sit up and listen when I was researching this piece was Machineri, who are up at 6.25pm.
From the couple of tracks of theirs I’ve managed to dig up, I like what I’m hearing. The guitarist Andre Geldenhuys is on a whole other level and the vocalist Sannie Fox has a Jefferson Airplane / Janis Joplin vocal tone that is all kinds of sexy.
Once Machineri have melted a few faces, I’d strongly recommend EVERYONE AT THE FESTIVAL heads to the Lemon Tree Theatre to watch Dylan Skews do the funniest stand-up you’re likely to see the entire weekend.
I watched this man at Synergy and literally cried laughing. Here’s a clip I dug up of some of his material from last year:
After that, I’d grab a bite to eat, smash a few tequilas and get ready for Friday’s big acts, starting with Isochronous, (who recently shortened their name to ISO), who are up at 9.40pm.
They wrote a pretty mesmerising, almost ethereal kind of indie which balances nicely with the Ben Gibbard / Death Cab For Cutie vocals.
Here’s a taste:
Last up is a band that I will personally kick you in the shin if you even think about missing.
Kongos are up at 11pm and they are going to blow everyone the fuck away. You can pretty much take that to the bank.
Here’s their video for “I’m Only Joking†if you don’t believe me.
Love those Queens Of The Stone Age / robot rock vibes. That relentless, driving bassline sounds like something stolen straight from Song For The Deaf, beyatiful.
If you’ve still got any strength left in you after that, I think it’ll be worth staying to watch BEAST, Inge Bergman’s new band.
I loved Lark, so even though I haven’t been able to find any of BEAST’s material to show you guys, I have high hopes for this band.
So that’s Friday for ya, anyone have any other suggestions of bands to watch, don’t be shy
That’s right boys and girls, your Tiger pal’s been busy putting together another suh-lick 8Tracks mix to blow your fragile little minds clear into the weekend, ffffffffffuck yeah! 
