Sondagmiddag – Kobus!

Kobus! – Kobus!

A few years after the Springbok Nude Girls split for the first time, the band’s guitarist Theo Crous hooked up with Voice of Destruction’s Francois Breyenbach and formed a band called Kobus! (or sometimes K.O.B.U.S.!). Their debut album ‘Kobus!’ opened with the track ‘Wie Is Kobus!’ which fades out with the question ‘Wie is Kobus!’ being asked over and over again in a whispered, slightly menacing way. And many of us did ask that question because there was something weird yet strangely alluring about what one was hearing.

But those who knew who made up the band would have perhaps been a bit puzzled by the sound because it was neither the Slipknot-ish metal of Voice of Destruction nor the grungy sounds of that we knew and loved from the Nude Girls. This is far more relaxed music and with a title like ‘Sondagmiddag’ (Sunday Afternoon), the 4^th track from their debut album, was bound to be laid back. While very different sounding, it sort of captures the same sentiments that Quentin E. Klopjaeger’s ‘Lazy Life’ does, staring with a gentle guitar over the sounds of a family sitting around in the back yard enjoying a braai. It’s relaxed and there is an Ultravox-esque synth sound sailing gently by.

But why would fans of of the Springbok Nude Girls and Voice Of Destruction go for this kind of music. Well, I am not sure that the latter would really like this, but Nude Girl fans would recognise the same feeling in this as there is in some of the quieter moments of the Nude Girl’s songs. Perhaps the most attractive thing for those fans is the half whispered vocals which give the song a slightly disturbing edge. ‘Lazy Life’ was a simple pop tune but, if one wanted to, one could almost imagine that this braai that Kobus! sings about is behind held at Hannibal Lecter’s house but the other guest don’t know what has been used to make the wors.

‘Kobus!’ certainly introduced us to a new sound which had some scratching their heads, some getting it and some just enjoying it. So lay back and enjoy a relaxed ‘Sondagmiddag’, but careful what you eat.

Where to find it:
Kobus! – Kobus! (2002), ENT Entertainment, CDENT001

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