Jou Oe – Kobus!

Kobus! – Kobus!

What is it about eyes and Springbok Nude Girls? Have a listen to their ‘Bue Eyes’ if you haven’t done so. It is a beautiful track and rather at odds with most of their other material. Then move on a few years to a time when Theo Crous started up his side project, Kobus! with Voice Of Destruction member, Francois Blom. On their debut eponymously titled album, they also sing about eyes on the track ‘Jou Oe’ (your eyes) and again one has a quite beautiful track.

There is something ethereal about this song. In part this is due to the other-worldly and somewhat mournful guitar that opens the track. The effect is amplified by the gently plucked guitar and is completed by the slightly falsetto voice that comes in. The voice sings about someone forgetting a woman’s smile, her name, the sound of her voice and even her hands, but the singer cannot shake the image of her eyes. And as he sings about the eyes, his voice soars in a kind of reverence to them. And like the effect the eyes have on the singer, so the song has a similar hypnotic effect on the listener.

There is also a feeling of brittle vulnerability in the voice, particularly in the refrains where the confusion and ache of the singer becomes tangible. He is confused about why these eyes have such an effect, but longs for another glimpse of them. It is almost an addiction and the music adds to this in a kind of trippy and psychedelic way.

There are shades of ‘Blue Eyes’ in this track, and also some shades of Pink Floyd’s ‘Goodbye Blue Skies’ with the guitar having that sad, yet lovely and gentle sound. Maybe we should try and persuade Theo and Francois to team up with Arno (from Springbok Nude Girls) and David Gilmour from Pink Floyd to write a song called ‘Goodbye Blue Oe’.

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

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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

Video: