For almost 30 years, Springbok Nude Girls have established themselves as one of South Africa's most awarded and recognized bands. Building an extensive discography since 1994, the group released their new album, Partypocalipse , in September; a fun and powerful rock record with catchy guitar riffs and contemplative lyrics, provoking a literal feeling of partying during the end of the world.
Despite being finalized during the pandemic, Partypocalipse began being written in 2019. This was the first Springbok album mastered by guitarist Theo Crous , who spoke more about the project in an interview with Wikimetal . Crous recalls that even before the pandemic there were major societal concerns that caused this imminent catastrophe, but these were set aside while we went on with our lives.
“The song from which the name Partypocalipse , “SA Tan On The Beaches”, is more like a reflection of where society was heading and continues to head, regardless of COVID,” he reflects. “If you think about environmental problems, it’s as if the world is moving forward even though there are these other problems that we should be solving, but we don’t care. It’s almost as if we’re ignoring the big problems of society to throw a party.”
Beyond environmental issues like the oil dispute and water scarcity, Theo also points to the socio-political landscape of the time as important, mentioning the repercussions of the Trump in Africa, such as the lack of freedom for South African citizens to travel to the United States. “You practically had to implant a chip in yourself [to enter the country]. Now Joe Biden has reversed much of that, but South Africa remains on the travel red list because of COVID,” he comments.
In addition to concerns surrounding COVID, the political landscape, and various emerging social issues, there was also a lack of investment in the arts during the pandemic, especially in music. According to Theo, most of the global income for musicians comes from live performances, and this area of entertainment has remained closed for the past two years. "The music industry is very small globally, so nobody cares about musicians and their source of income," he says.
Fortunately, while the global situation is improving and bands around the world are slowly returning to live performances, Theo Crous expresses his desire to come to Brazil for the first time as soon as possible, not only to play live, but also to surf on the beaches. He says he enjoys surfing and also reveals that he is a big fan of Gabriel Medina .
“I can’t wait to do shows in Brazil because we’ve never had the chance,” he says. “I like to surf, so I would love to surf in Brazil. I’m a big fan of Medina. Not so much of Ítalo [ Ferreira ]. I like Ítalo, but I like Medina more, especially in this last year. He has shown a lot of growth as a person and as a human being, and I really like his style of surfing. Among all the Brazilian surfers, I like him a lot.”
With Partypocalipse , Springbok Nude Girls celebrates 27 years on the road, but, according to Theo, the band members still treat each other as if they were 21 years old, and that's how they feel in "their hearts". The recording process of the album is described by the guitarist as "fun", but it also marks a brief farewell to original members Adriaan Brand (keyboards/trumpet) and Arno Blumer (bass), who, due to being in different countries, will not be able to tour with the group.
Theo reflects that over the years, Springbok Nude Girls encountered some difficulties because some of their songs carry elements of South African music, which some record labels interpreted as difficult to "understand" and promote. Throughout their career, the band combined genres such as punk, metal, reggae, funk, and jazz, but in Partypocalipse a more niche rock album, making fun dance tracks like "Emerging Submarines" and "Best Friends, Best Enemies," but also adding extra weight in "Rolling Thunder" and "Something About The Neighbors."
As the name itself suggests, Partypocalipse is the perfect album for an end-of-times party, promoting momentary fun while there's still life, while also keeping us aware of the weight of the world around us.