Music Review

TKZee is back with a bang! Or is it? After a long seven-year absence the boys are back in town, doing their best to rekindle the magic that made them so popular during the 1990s’ kwaito boom. Coming Home is a CD that not only showcases their latest personas but also informs their fans about how much they have grown, or not.

The sound is different of course, seven years can change a lot of things. They say they have grown up, one is married with a child, others are also men and not boys anymore. Not a lot of people will recognise this new TKZee with a more “worldly sound”. Zwai still applies his grand piano and vocal skills and since Kabelo’s solo blowup, he’s become the more lyrical member.

Radio has been playing “Sdudla”, the first single, but it doesn’t seem to have taken off in the same way that “Palafala”, “Shibobo” or “Dlala Mapantsula”. There are of course more songs to choose from, some in the same league as “Sdudla”. They include “Viva La Pantsula”, “Older” and “Coming Home”. The latter is an awesome tribute to their comeback, yet none scream out “summer anthem!”

Artist growth is inevitable and sometimes sends them towards a path of greater awareness and musicianship. Other times, like in this instance, it splits them with their traditional fan base and even fails to garner them a substantial number of new ones. I really wish it wasn’t so, but this is not the best TKZee album ever made. Not by a long shot.

THAMI MASEMOLA