Seether going strong nearly 20 years later

BLAST from the past this past week with now mega-successful US rockers Seether (two of their founding members are from Pietermaritzburg) visiting Emmarentia, of all places, for a quickie rock orgasm before continuing their world tour in support of their seventh studio album, Poison The Parish.

It sent me down a rabbit hole of Youtube videos, remembering a voice and sound so unique to South Africa in the early 2000s that it was obvious to anyone they were destined for the great college radio rock of the States.

Seether, known as Saron Gas at the start of their meteoric rise to fame, were some small town rough around the edges boys with smelly T-shirts and a lusting for mini MCD burgers and beer.

There was nothing exceptionally sexy about them: a drummer that looked like a car mechanic from Margate, a bassist with kind eyes and a bad hairstyle and a lead singer... well, that was where the difference lay. Shaun Morgan Welgemoed is one large presence in your life, both physically and emotionally, whether you meet him in person or witness him on stage.

There had been nothing like it since Kurt Cobain. He had that raspy, whisky-laden growl to the back of every word spoke or sung, with a distinct and unusual gift for melody amid a harsh backdrop of sound. He also had a presence and that, as we all know, cannot be taught, bought or learnt.

Saron Gas, now Seether, were never big on innuendo in their songs. Their approach to the post-grunge rock template was simple, clean, traditional and effective. So effective, that the minute you heard one of their songs, you immediately connected, understood and, most importantly, felt the anger, sadness and sarcasm that has been the band’s template for nearly 20 years.

Most of the big bands of the post-grunge era have not survived as well as Seether. They might have been latecomers on the rock scene, but have maintained and grown their audience over the course of every album. Their biggest success, I think, is that their songs have withstood the test of time. If you listen to songs like Fine Again, Fake It or Broken in 2018, they sound as raw and real as they did back in 2001. It’s a great pity we won’t be able to celebrate the continued success of Seether since no other gigs are planned for South Africa, but we can only hope and maybe storm their social media with requests.

Since we’re near the end of May and well on our way to midyear, it’s that time again to ruminate over the releases of the past six months, noting my favourite two.

Sliding into base with a late release, Arctic Monkey’s Tranquillity Base Hotel & Casino is just brilliant. The band add new dimensions to their sound, making for a truly fascinating album.

On the rap side of things, J Cole’s KOD comes out as one of the biggest surprises of the year so far. Cole has never been... well, let’s say, empathetic, to his fellow rappers and humanity with substance abuse issues. So his moving essays on why and how humans become enslaved to those miracle cures that make life worth living when you’re lying in the gutter is truly remarkable. Here we see a more mature and deep-thinking Cole.