Home Wrecker – The Dirty Skirts
I imagine a punch bag must feel a little bit like one does after listening to The Dirty Skirts’ ‘Homewrecker’. The song has such a punchy beat that hardly lets up throughout the song while the band bounce through the lyrics as if they are bashing you on the head as they go. You are left feeling a little battered and bruised by the experience but know you’re like one of those characters in a movie who gets their kicks getting into scraps. You smile through swollen lips and black eyes and say, ‘you should see the other guy’ even though everyone knows there is probably not a scratch on them.
Led by Jeremy de Tolly, The Dirty Skirts hailed from Cape Town and deliver an energetic punk rock sound similar to Green Day and the Strokes. It borders on frenetic and sounds like fizzy teenage hormones in a shook-up bottle. There is a a scuzzy guitar intro that tumbles into the song which has a blast of guitars before de Tolly’s urgent punky vocals bash their way through and you’re washed away on the beat.
In his song ‘Cooler As Ekke’, Jack Parow comments, ‘Shame you listen to The Dirty Skirts’ and a few lines later has the put-down ‘Jy lyks soos Jeremy de Tolly’ (you look like Jeremy de Tolly). Maybe its professional jealousy or maybe its just that it’s part of a rappers cool image to dis anything that’s not rap, but The Dirty Skirts did enough to get up the nose of one of the country’s top rappers and I can see that a song like ‘Homewrecker’ which is all punk and no rap would not be liked by pure rap lovers.
And maybe The Skirts kind of punk is not your cup of tea, but they certainly knew how to make a song in ‘their’ style. Punchy, punky, energetic and never at the cost of a tune. ‘Homewrecker’ is a good example of the genre. As de Tolly sings, ‘Let’s punch a hole in this Saturday night’. And they certainly punched a Dirty Skirts sized hole into the SA music scene.
Where to find it:
On A Stellar Bender – The Dirty Skirts (2007), Seed Music, SEED123
Video:
1001 South African Songs You Must Hear Before You Go Deaf 