Bruisin' Music> Swivel Foot: The Last Round

E365 -- South African punk rock has NEVER been to my taste. Over-worked, boring and plagiaristic (is that even a word!) are just some of the words which my vocab is able to generate once my mind has been tortured by what is best described as 'noise'. Now don't get me wrong, Fuzigish and Hog Hoggidy Hog have it down, but it is the bands which are beginning to emerge which send me running in the opposite direction.

Andrew Hallett is extreme. That's why he wrote this.

Having said that, let me tell you about a little gem I discovered a few years back, and have now had the pleasure of re-discovering in the form of their debut EP. The band in question: aptly named skate-punk rockers Swivel Foot. No relation to Switchfoot.

I first heard Swivel Foot (Dave: Guitar/Vox -- Jarryd: Guitar/Vox -- Don: Drums -- Eric: Bass/Vox) about three years ago at Roxy's in Johannesburg. Their energy and enthusiasm overshadowed the overpriced beer and left me with a warm and fuzzy feeling, something which i have not experienced from an SA punk band in quite a while. Although at the time they were a little rough around the edges, listening to their first release in 'The Last Round' I have once again been left with the same feeling which I experienced on that hot and sweaty January evening.

Their EP starts off by giving you a right old kick in the nuts. The title track begins with a barroom conversation between the band discussing everything from Australia to cheese, before you are met by a rousing group of voices which pulls at your strings and reels you into an agressive orgy of rough vocals and sweet ass guitar riffs. The energy which the band show in this track alone is directly linked to their energy on stage. I can only imagine what this song would sound like live!

'Havenots & Upstarts' is a little less agressive but maintains the energy of the opening track, and matched with 'No Control', they make for a double play to please the stiffest of critics. If any of you reading this believe that I am just hyping them up at this stage, think again, these guys are the real deal!

'Gareth Jones' is probably their tightest song. As a band they have progressed to a much higher level than that which I witnessed three years ago, and this song is testiment to that. The vocals are strong, the drumming is nearly faultless and the mix between bass and guitar creates an unrellenting wall of power between yourself and the stereo speakers.

'Days Gone By' rounds off the album nicely with more of an upbeat sound. As upbeat in lyrics as it is musically, it is the kind of song which makes you want to grab your board (of any kind) and go kick some ass.

Overall, I believe that South African punk fans have something to believe in for a change, something worth paying hard earned cash for. For all the times which I have been left disappointed by bands who have promised so much but delivered very little, this band gives me a reason to believe again.

Johannesburg: 31 August
Durban: 7 & 8 September
Bloemfontein: 14 & 15 September
Cape Town: 21 & 22 September
Joburg: 29 September

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