Originally published on Dooyoo.co.uk
I am on a mission, and I feel an almost evangelistic dedication to the cause. I have found something special and want to share it. I have found a Rock band with energy, attitude and with a catalogue of songs that I cannot fault.
Guano Apes are awesomely powerful, exciting, full of grooves and yet very catchy. Fair enough, they have a rubbish name – but don’t hold it against them. I found this band through a recommendation and I’m extremely grateful. They are the best new band I’ve come across for a very long time.
Their music combines the power and feel of Limp Bizkit and Rage against the Machine. Occasionally they remind me of Nirvana too. There are also sporadic overtones of Punk rock, not too much, just a sprinkling for flavouring.
The thing I love most about this band is the vocalist, Sandra Nasic. She is incredible. She has this amazing ability to jump from one vocal style to another while remaining faithful in her relationship with the song. The styles are so different that it sometimes sounds like there are multiple singers in the band. One minute she is singing all sweetly and conventionally – then she crashes into this awesomely powerful, aggressive, and masculine-sounding singer.
At first, this can cause a slight sense of disorientation and it is slightly detrimental to the consistency of the band’s sound. In fact, this could be argued about the music too but to a lesser degree. I could pick out and play you two or three tracks and you may be surprised when I told you they were the same band – that’s how versatile her voice and their musical style can be. It didn’t take me long to get used to it though, and if you can accept it, it gives the band so much more than it takes away. It gives them a dynamic range seldom seen.
Personally, I have always preferred male rock singers. To be honest though, I currently think she’s the best rock singer I’ve ever heard. OK, so that could be an exaggeration, but I am very enamoured by her at the moment. I can definitely say without doubt, that she’s my all-time favourite female rock vocalist.
When asked in an interview to describe their music in three words, she answered, “hard, soft and good.” This is not a bad attempt at a description if slightly modest. She also writes all the lyrics. Personally, I would say powerful instead of hard, and awesome instead of good.
The Band
A four-piece German band from Gottingen, their lyrics are in English but with an occasional hint of the German accent giving that unique feel which makes them more interesting to my ears. I love that feel, anyone who’s heard the band, Sparks or Kraftwork, will be familiar with it although it’s more subtle with Guano Apes.
They won Germany’s respected, up-and-coming Battle of the Bands competition in 1996, which had 1,015 competitors. They released their first album “Proud Like A God” in 1998 and had a hit single from it in the U.S. called ‘Open Your Eyes.’ They also won the “Best German act” MTV award in 2000.
It’s not easy to pick out the best songs on Proud like a God, because apart from the last track they are all excellent. Special mention though can go to the opening track, Open your Eyes, which was a hit single and, Lords of the Boards, which was commissioned for a Snowboard championship.
Their second album, “Don’t give me names” (titled somewhat frivolously after they got sick of throwing names about in attempts to find a title) was released in Europe in May 2000. It features a powerful cover of Big in Japan, which was a hit for Alphaville in the 80s (I think)
Other notable songs are, “Dödle up” and, “Mine all Mine” which has some excellent heavy acoustic guitar playing. Both albums are packed with great songs.
I can’t praise Guano Apes enough. I want to see them live so much I can taste it. If you like powerful, often aggressive music that is never anything but totally catchy and forces your head to nod up and down whether you consent or not, then check them out.
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