“It is almost absurd how good these tracks are.” — Jpgchief
Thank you so much to Javier at Less Than 1000 Followers for this amazing review:
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This EP has a very mellow mood, and very ominous lyrics. “Running With Scissors” is a brilliant piece of work where chaos and harmony are equally blend together, creating a unique atmosphere of apparent calmness.
Hello everybody! Welcome back. It’s your boy MadZen and today we will be reviewing this debut EP by singer-songwriter Adriaan van Heerden, a musician raised in South Africa who took lessons in several instruments, and composed music from an early age. This is his first EP!
Now, as I mentioned above, this EP is very unique. The mix between soft and happy melodies with the serious and ironic lyrics is just fantastic and just a bit odd-feeling. But trust me, you’ll be amazed. It is actually really good, and really poetic.
As Adriaan puts it, Dark Soul Safari explores themes of individuals – and humanity itself – on the edge of breakdown. From failed politicians, to global warming, the themes in this EP are an expression of catastrophe somehow neutralized by the soothing musical elements of the tracks. Brilliant!
We start with “That’s How I Roll”, an upbeat track tells the story of a road rage incident and explores the psychology of the protagonist. All of the songs, produced by Top 10 producer/engineer Andy Brook (Status Quo, Bonnie Tyler, Ginger Wildheart, Mel Gaynor, Tiger Lilies and many others), contain almost the same instrumentation of drums, clean electric guitars, bass, keys and vocals. It may seem minimalist but that’s actually all the tracks needed to become great.
It is almost absurd how good these tracks are. I mean, Adriaan is ironically very funny when he’s singing of “crazy motherfuckers out of control”. In contrast, we later have the haunting lament for humanity’s (future) collapse in “Running With Scissors”. Almost all of the tracks are so chilled and so mellow, and Adriaan’s voice so soft, that it is almost impossible to feel bad for our own decline. Ha!
The third track, “Jim the Priest”, tells the story of a charlatan evangelical preacher who exploits his followers for monetary gain and “special favours”.
I think my favorite track is the last one, “Still Chasing Windmills”. Maybe it’s because it takes inspiration from the novel “Don Quixote” by Miguel de Cervantes. In the track, an aging man reflects on his history of misadventures but refuses to give up hope. It is nostalgic, a bit sad, but overall very pretty and inspiring.
In resume, I really enjoyed this EP and I think you will do too.