Balkans and Spoek Mathambo

I'm not sure what draws people to attend certain shows sometimes but I leave either scratching my head or wanting to punch them in the face after I ask them their thoughts on what they've just witnessed. I recently went to one of the best hip hop shows I have ever seen when I saw Too Short and E-40 grace the stage of Mohawk here in Austin. But midway through Too Short's performance, this 40 something year old lady comes up to me after she noticed everyone was losing their minds and rapping every lyric along with Short Dawg, and asked me the following. "How can you say these lyrics? Have you heard them? They're so offensive and awful!!" My response was basically "Um lady, you never actually heard a Too Short song before you paid $30 to see him? What in the world is wrong with you???" And please, before Blow Job Betty came out, no one was openly talking about the wonderful gift of the BJ. Sure it popped up here and there in movies like Wall Street and Fatal Attraction, both of which starred Michael Douglass strangely enough, but even then it was inspired by cocaine or a psycho killer. But thanks to Too Short leading the way, it's now in every rap album that has come out since 1993 and it has basically become the new first date kiss.

I once had a friend go to a punk show just so he could show up and complain about how much he hated the band. He actually paid $10 to stand there and hate on them, all the while shouting in my ear about how Lil B was the voice of a generation. Yes you read that correctly; Lil B and Wonton Soup. So part of the reason I write these previews is so you don't sound like the grandma that came up to me complaining about insulting rap lyrics. And the other reason I write them is to prepare you for when scrubs try and tell you ridiculous things like 'Iggy Azalea is the future of hip hop'. Shoot me, just shoot me now!

The first band I'm previewing today is the Balkans; they are a young 4 piece band from Atlanta, a city that has been consistently putting out decent pop/punk or traditional punk bands for years now. The Balkans are somewhere in between these two categories as they have a sound that's similar to what you would expect from the Monkees if they were born in this era. Just try and imagine Last Train to Clarksville but with more distortion. But for a more modern reference, they sound next of Broncho, as their lead slurs lyrics over buzzing guitars that you would normally expect to hear playing during a scene where Lena Dunham of Girls is getting dressed for one of her hipster parties. They have a pretty consistent garage band sound throughout the entire album with Edita V and I Can't Compete being the highlights. It's not an innovative sound but it's certainly entertaining as you'll find yourself tapping your feet and defiantly swaying from side to side  despite your better judgment. I rate them as FRESH.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LtawF2bgi0

Next up is Spoek Mathambo, I realize that most of you have probably already heard of him due to his clever cover of Joy Division's She's Lost Control, but I'm not sure if you actually dug deeper than that. He's from South Africa but his style is similar to that of a post 1999 Andre 3000. I'm talking about the way he dresses and carries himself more than anything; so based off of appearance alone you'd write him off as another wannabe from ATL. But he's a little more talented than that. And let's be honest, if he could, I'm sure this is the kind of music 3000 would want to make today; well at least for a soundtrack or two anyway. It goes from bass heavy electronic on one track to indie rock on the next (see Let Them Talk). You never really know what to expect because each song is unique. My favorite jam of his so far is probably Put Some Red On It. Now I don't really get Spoek myself but I do respect what he brings to the game; he doesn't really have rhyme skills or mind blowing lyrics but his beats are dope. He acts more like a hype man at a show that actually says discernible things into the mic. I rate him as kind of WEAK but I'd pop in to see him before if it were a cheap show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJV84NYTf1Y