Arno Carstens
Die Aandblom 13 (Select Musiek)
Breakdown: He crept into our hearts as the lead singer of The Springbok Nude Girls as well as a solo artist having released hit singles such as ‘Another Universe’ and ‘Emergency’. Now, after a stint on The X Factor South Africa, Arno Carstens is changing things up as he drops his debut Afrikaans album ‘Die Aandblom 13’. The album includes the lead single ‘Ontwaak’ as well as his new single ‘Bottel Sonder Prop’
How Many Good Tracks: 10 of the 13.
What I Liked: Arno Carstens is a legend. He has made a huge impact on the local music industry and it’s great to see him change things up and keep things fresh so far into his career. In true Arno Carstens fashion, each song on the album sees the singer tell a phenomenal story as he uses deep, almost poetic lyrics and gripping melodies. Arno speaks unashamedly and directly about perceptions, challenges, awakening, hope, love and change and does so beautifully in Afrikaans. Arno sounds more comfortable than ever singing in Afrikaans and it seems he is able to dig deep into his soul because of this. Instrumentally, the album is quite dark and has a great mix of emotional ballads and more upbeat tracks which keeps the album interesting. Arno sounds great and it’s great to see this side of him. I’m glad he finally decided release an Afrikaans album. It’s been long overdue.
What I Didn’t Like: Besides the language, Arno doesn’t change things up too much on this record. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, there are moments on the album where Arno’s sound sounds a bit dated. Despite this, Arno has dropped a fantastic debut Afrikaans album.
Best Track: Bonatuurlik
Rating: 4/5
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