Culture
Radio A Sessions: Taung Child
By: Emily Votaw
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Taung Child is the Athens-based weirdo noise rock project that graces this edition of WOUB’s Radio A Sessions. The band is spearheaded by Colby Smith, who put together the band after finding the sonic aggression of the Athens music scene lacking.
The five person outfit isn’t as intimidating as one might fear after hearing that origin tale — Smith has a warm disposition, which comes as an interesting contrast to the bellicose tone of the vocals he delivers in the band’s material. He jokes around a bit during the band’s set-up in WOUB’s Radio A, while drummer Cobi Powell (the band’s “resident Florida Georgia Line fan,”) continually quotes lines from the 1998 international super-hit “You Get What You Give,” under his breath, much to the chagrin of his bandmates.
Devo and bossa nova riffs emanate over the sound check for this session — surprising stuff for a noise rock band to warm up on — maybe?
When we decided to bring a noise act into the studio, I did wonder: will they sound like Throbbing Gristle? Like Survival Research Laboratories? Or Severed Heads? Perhaps more tuneful, like Micachu and the Shapes or John Maus?
As it turns out, Taung Child sounds all at once comparable to all of those acts and yet entirely of their own making. Although their time in WOUB marks their first official recording, as the band has made a name for themselves playing at various house venues as well as The Union, it was clear that this is a group who not only know their musical history, but who have also developed a unique vision for how they wish their sound to manifest.
Listen to the occasionally goofy interview with the band, embedded above, as well as their in-studio renditions of “Against Science,” “The Hinterland,” and “Creativity Is Pathogen.”