Through scrap-metal mazes, Die Antwoord absconds from the scene of verbal murder. The night cocoons the team in woolly shadows as they chant oaths to forever stick together, to break the chains of poverty, to be an infamous somebody.
“Enter the Ninja” races from a close arrest, fired by a lifetime of rage and “Why me?”s. Yolandi Vi$$er, the damsel-in-distress, calls for help in a nymph-like falsetto. And with trenchant rhymes in both Afrikaans and English, Ninja shoots at police as he tears towards her cry. It is a decisive moment made epic by slinking synth harmonies, all hidden behind splintering electronic bullets.
In “Doos Dronk” a Klezmer-like melody stomps out a funeral procession. Die Antwoord spits at passing caskets embittered by the memory of his family who were discarded without ceremony or grave. The anger too steams from Yolandi Vi$$er’s snarls. All fury escalates until finally the chorus booms the cult’s damnation, sounding like machinery from a devil’s workshop.
Come see the South African trio fume at Royale, Thursday, July 20th.