Released:
March 2002, Independent

SA Rock Digest charts:
highest position: 2
weeks on Top 20: 7

Website:
New World Inside

We’re going to have a special anniversary this year, when the Pistol’s ‘God Save The Queen’ single gets re-released to commemorate 25 years since it invisibly topped the British singles charts during the Queen’s Jubilee week. This year sees Queen Elizabeth celebrating 50 years on the throne, and Johnny and the lads will be there to share the moment, again. Since those days, punk rock has never really gone away. It keeps resurfacing wherever young, bored and edgy kids need some hard and fast (and short) songs to soundtrack their lives, and something dangerous and cool to move to. You’ll also hear these punk songs playing over ‘Jackass’ stunts, and on skating and surf videos, giving this vital rock genre continued credibility and new fans.

New World Inside are a tight "emotional" punk quartet from Cape Town who have just released their debut 7-track EP on the back of a year of gigging and some strong advance publicity and press. They recently won the University of Stellenbosch ‘Battle of the Bands’ competition, and are currently chewing up all their opposition on the local thrash/bash/Clash circuit. This self-titled EP gets the punk formula down pat - rushing drums, churning bass, twin-squealing guitars, explosion, sudden stop, speedy tune with sneery voice singing about life and girls and then, two minutes and 22 seconds later, that’s it. And all with a touch of humour, reminicent of NOFX, Green Day, the bands on the Fat Wreck label, and Scabby Annie, the wild SA trio from a few years back.

The band is Hunter Kennedy (v.g), Francois Badenhorst (v.b), Raffael Rueckert (v.g), and Gerald van Wyk (d) and credit to them for a decent opening shot. None of the earlier songs really stick out, besides ‘Forget About Me’, Let’s Skip Class’, and ‘Song In A’. But hidden away towards the end is a little punk-pop gem called ‘Since I Met You’, which signposts something beyond the status quo with its bursts of energy and classic lyrics ("No more lonely nights, no more prison fights, no more prostitutes, no more destitute, things are much better since I met you"). A tight and tough debut, indicating a lot of potential and plenty of confidence.
-- Stephen Segerman, April 2002