I first heard about BLK JKS sometime during 2010, I think it was during the world cup (one of their songs was featured on Fifa 10, If I remember right), when all eyes of the sports world were pointed towards South Africa. Well, after hearing After Robots for the first time I was awe-struck by the music and hoped that they’ll release another record soon thus enabling me to enjoy in new songs because After Robots was in my playlist for such a long time that I basically knew all of the songs from start to finish. Unfortunately, a successor to this marvelous piece of music art never saw the light of day (they only released 5 songs EP, named Zol, that wasn’t enough to satisfy my cravings), but music isn’t forgotten. This album can be still occasionally heard on my speakers, just for the sake of remembering those good times when I was switching over from another regular metalhead to a guy who doesn’t care which genre the music is as long as it’s good, and when discovering new and awesome music was present on a daily basis.
Anyway, enough with the rant, let’s talk about music. After Robots got released back in 2009, features 8 songs and lasts for about 45 minutes. The music isn’t really comparable to any other band, sometimes they sound like The Mars Volta, sometimes like Fela Kuti, or even Pink Floyd; they have been advertised as “African TV on The Radio”; there are traces of dub, progressive, reggae, folk and jazz sound through the album but, BLK JKS are completely unique most of the time and can only be described as an art rock band, where everything is possible and nothing sounds subpar.
Nice, distant-sounding vocals, incredible guitar work, knowledge about music that enables every song to be recognized at the first listen, astonishing arrangements, and kick-ass production are some of the best things about this album. From the neo-folk-with-a-touch-of-progressive Molalatladi, through Lakeside, a perfect progressive tune that is also catchy as hell, or groovy and pumping Mzabalazo up to Tselane, a minimalistic miracle and a perfect pick for the album closer, After Robots stays different, on its own ground, refusing to make compromises and delivering one win after another. Amazing album, completely different for everyone but a quality listen for almost everyone.
It’s too bad that BLK JKS still haven’t released the second album. I mean, quality is there, After Robots was warmly accepted and Zol, that EP they released in 2010 was not bad at all. I don’t know, I hope that one day we’ll see (and hear) some new musical adventures from this guys, and ‘till that happens, find After Robots and let the music, and not I, do the talking.
