The Dollfins, a three piece rock n roll/punk band hailing from the Cape recently released their self titled album on the web as a free download. The Dollfins have created a feel good sound that fuses punk and blues and tends to remind of something you’d expect to hear from the likes of The Kills or the Scott Pilgrim soundtrack. Personal favourites would have to be “I’ve Got a Head” and “In My Head”.
Check ot their album:
Also the “In My Head” Offical Music Video:
Mainstream radio tends to feed us music that isn’t necessarily good and pretty much sounds the same, however, every now and then there are bands that surprise us by managing to make music that is radio friendly, super catchy and worth listening to. Johannesburg seems to be South Africa’s source of these bands and it makes one wonder what it is that Johannesburg has that Cape Town doesn’t. Cape Town has limited venues for bands to perform and a relatively difficult audience to convince. While Johannesburg has more venues and a bigger crowd of music goers, bands gig for years without ever blowing up. You’ve got to pay your dues if you want to make it in this scene and Dance You’re On Fire is one such band. They have been gigging and paying their dues since 2007. It was only after their change in sound, now more mainstream as opposed to their earlier experimental material, and the release of their single ‘Blockade’, followed by their full length debut album Secret Chiefs that South Africa was forced to take notice.
Their feel good sugary pop rock sound with an indie bite is the kind of music you would blast at full volume in your car on your way to campus to get you amped up for the long day ahead. I remember the first time hearing Boxes of Tigers. I was completely convinced it was Panic At The Disco making an awesome come back after the failure of Pretty Odd, so I turned it up to full volume. The quality of both this band’s music as well as the actual production and mastering of the album exceeds expectations. It is an extremely well-produced album, good enough to be released internationally. Realising that they were in fact a local band only impressed me more.
While DYOF’s sound is commercial they have found a perfect balance between popular culture and indie that makes for catchy tunes but never losing its credibility as a ‘radicore’ band. ‘Secret Chiefs’ ranges from bubbly tracks like Boxes of Tigers and Little Wars which prove perfect for dancing around like a kid who’s had too much candy (when nobody’s looking of course), to more chilled songs like Michelle. My personal favourites on the album would be Blockade and Michelle. Blockade’s attitude filled leads make it stand out from the rest of the album while the mellowness of Michelle compliments the indie pop nature of the rest of the album.
The band is in the process of working on a follow up to Secret Chiefs hopefully to be released in 2012. They may sound a lot like Panic At The Disco but I don’t think we need to worry too much about them pulling a ‘Pretty Odd’ stunt. I can’t see them isolating themselves in a cabin in the mountains in the middle of nowhere, writing music while under the influence of opium related drugs. This is an album definitely worth adding to your collection.
So I know I said that this blog is dedicated to the local scene but I just could not ignore this band. A while ago a buddy of mine raved to me about a Boston band called Helicopria and at the time I didn’t think too much of it. Checked out the band on FaceBook, managed to catch a bit of a Circa Survive cover they did before the internet failed me. Only a couple of days ago did I get to check them out properly and was extremely impressed! Helicopria is a 4 piece progressive rock band consisting of Sırma Munyar (Vocals), Sulene V (Guitar & Backing Vocals), Drew Moore (Bass) and JP Bouvet (Drums). They are influenced by the likes of The Mars Volta, Circa Survive and Bjork. Their EP Chaos of Closure is a definite must to take a listen to. There is something absolutely magically about the way lead singer Sırma integrates Turkish into their lyrics (Don’t panic! Most of it is in English!) bringing a subtle exotic element to their music that leaves you with goose bumps. This is only emphasised by brilliantly harmonious backing vocals, raging guitar solos and a solid drum and bass section. All of their music is available to download for FREE on their website, so check it out. (Do it! Do it NOW! Hehe) My favourite track would have to be Our Today, but honestly the rest of it is just as brilliant. There is no doubt that this band will be making their mark on an international scale. I mean they’ve already got a little fan base at UCT! Facebook Fan Page
DOWNLOAD CHAOS OF CLOSURE HERE!
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