CD Info
2011
Columbia Records
The End Records / USA License
13 Tracks
English Lyrics

Guano Apes have been on vacation, a rather long vacation. In fact, for many readers, this may be an entirely new phenomenon. But, for those of us who have been around for a while, this is a return of one of the premiere acts in Female Fronted Metal. The German quartet, fronted by lovely blond vocalist Sandra Nasić was a staple on the music scene around the world, with the possible exception of America, from 1994 – 2006. America, of course, was busy examining the musical beauty of Two Live Crew and the intellectual vacuity of the Backstreet Boys. But, with their new release, they’re back on the scene, while America rages over the Justin Bieber and Jay-Z. Ahh well, we still have Country / Western.

Historically, Guano Apes were seen as one of the first major European Female Fronted metal acts, along with Polish sounds like Closterkeller, the Finnish band Nightwish and The Gathering from the Netherlands. They are often tied in with stadium rock since they played many of the major venues in Western Europe during their run in the late 90s and early 21st century, a trend they clearly carry on today. And, the spawned a number of highly regarded singles, Open Your Eyes and Lords of the Boards being just two of the foremost releases. During this period, Guano Apes released three general CDs, one of which went platinum and two going gold in Germany followed by a live production and a “best of” before disbanding in 2006. A subsequent release focused on unreleased tracks and all were well received. The band made a decision to reconnect in 2009 performing in a reunion concert in Nickelsdorf, Austria, in June of that year. The followed this up with performances in Poland, Germany and Portugal before returning to the recording studio to work on the present production.

Bel Air has met with mixed reviews (although most are positive), the prevailing complaint being that it doesn’t sound exactly like their previous material. Well, I’m not entirely familiar with their previous material so that complaint won’t be heard here and, I suspect, many of their new listeners will be in the same boat. A lot of time has gone by since Proud Like a God and listening tastes change. So, bringing out something that more closely approximates current trends might not be a bad thing, only time will tell. But, from what I recall of the previous material, this isn’t that big a deviation. There’s a little less nu metal here, a little less of the driving sound that drove their previous material. You might call this new release a form of indie music, but, indie covers so much ground that it’s hard to make a firm distinction. There are some softer moments on this title, When the Ships Arrive and Fanman, for instance. But the rest tend to be up tempo numbers, after the fashion that made them famous in their previous iteration. And, as one can see from their live performances, there continues to be a strong interaction between the band, especially vocalist Sandra Nasić and the audience. This has been a signature component of the Guano Apes popularity, no matter what the direction of the music over the years and it clearly continues today.

The music of the Guano Apes tends to be dance oriented, and today, they add that signature electronic element even a little more, as do so many of the contemporary sounds. The CD begins with Sunday Lover  and introduces us to this somewhat new direction immediately. One can expect that this selection will eventually be found in a million watering holes around the planet, and bring millions to their feet to cut a rug in the best tradition of dance halls the world over. Everything you need in a production of this kind, the electronic intro, the throbbing drums, the crunching guitars, and the vocals from one of the premiere female vocalists in the business. And a few years sure haven’t done any damage to her appearance. There are a number of tracks that follow this format, for instance, She’s a Killer where Nasić takes a somewhat more dangerous direction with her vocals. And, on a production where lyrics are distinctly different from the Gothic direction prevalent in Female Fronted Metal, we get a colorful; if somewhat tongue in cheek, reflection on the contemporary femme fatale mystique.

She took a gun with your blood
In your hands
She pulls a trigger
With a blink of romance
Give me your nightmare
Give me all that she can
You are just a freak
Coming up from the damn

It’s a long way from Sirenia or Draconian but this is a completely different approach to the message, which is less severe and, often times, kinda cute. But, the important thing about Guano Apes is not the message, it’s the sound, and it’s a sound that tends to get you up off your butt and moving. Tiger is another that takes this direction with a guitar driven pulse, one that takes the puddy tat analogy to places that are more reflective of interpersonal relationships than big stripped cats.

I know the coolest cat
She’s living high on a mountain
Here she comes again
A pocket full of stories to be heard

Damn, I think we all know a few cats like that, much to our chagrin. Musically, that guitar drives the sound with the occasional pussy cat sounds to help you remember the melody, as if you really needed any help.

Pretty much the entire CD is full of catchy tunes, music that lifts you up and makes life a little more interesting. And don’t think it isn’t getting noticed. The CD came in at Number 1 out of the box in Germany and about the same in the rest of Europe. YouTube plays on tracks like Oh What a Night are closing in on a million, and the CD hasn’t even been released in large parts of the world. And, what’s even more interesting is the level of respect they have from their peers. It’s amazing how many times artists have told me how much they’ve been influenced by Guano Apes music, even bands from as far away as Moscow where The SLoT vocalist Nookie prominently mentioned them during an SC interview. And she’s far from alone in her thinking. The band has done much to influence a generation of Female Fronted bands, and clearly, they aren’t done yet. The CD is also available in America as well. So save your nickels and dimes, cut back on that Big Daddy Kane stuff and get Aped. You won’t regret it.

9 / 10

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