‘Your love is like a switchblade knife/ Oh it cuts, cuts, cuts but it feels so right’ comes the drawl of Cape Town trio Retro Dizzy’s vocalist Richard Liefeldt. Recent track Your love is a switchblade knife is an incendiary record of high calibre, ‘it’s about a girl’ so goes the band’s blunt description – as so many of the best songs are – but this is no love ballad, it’s a pulsing hit that whips up an evil frenzy of garage rock immediacy.

The trio’s sound flits between the garage pace of Bass Drum Of Death, hardened Sabbath riffs and the psychedelic musings of Allah Las, it’s a zealous combination that rings loud and clear, these lads may not be reinventing the wheel but they’re giving it a hefty spin. Tracks are rampage paced, each one exact in length, it’s got the right drive for the melody, and with a spitfire delivery, lead singer Liefeldt [Richard] knows exactly how to blurt a line like ‘You are my sweet irony/And I am the epitome/Come on baby follow me/Ain’t nothing like sweet blasphemy’.

Having just recorded their second record titled Creatures of the Black Desert – their first was a collection of live tracks – these three shaggy haired lads are preparing an onslaught. Conceived on Cape Town’s sandy beaches the new record follows the band’s knife-edge formula, crammed with fuzzy, grinding hooks and snarling screams.

Their mantra provides an accurate insight into their hedonistic thought patterns: ‘We are driven to bring good music back to the people, no fake shit, no lies, just three honest guys sweating, bleeding and dying for rock and roll and everything it represents’. Succumb to their jagged moves, embrace the exhilaration, welcome to the Pleasuredome – Retro Dizzy will see you now.

AJT: How long have you guys been together for?
Richard Liefeldt: We have been together for about a year now.

AJT: And what first made you form a band?
RL: We just wanted to play music and express ourselves and hope to God that people didn’t hate it. We’re just 3 guys from a small town called Hermanus that had no music scene whatsoever and wanted to create our own.

AJT: How is the music scene looking in Cape Town?
RL: Things are looking pretty damn good. There’s a whole underground scene that’s slowly starting to reveal itself to the mainstream, we guess people are tired of just hearing laptops. The dudes from Psych Night (check that shit out) have really succeeded in exposing a lot of fresh bands and helping them get their names out there. They also brought global attention to South Africa by bringing down international acts such as the Allah-Las, which is really rad. Other than that there are tons of great bands with a lot of potential that aren’t getting the attention they deserve. 

AJT: Can you give us some Cape Town bands to check out?
RL: Dude, there are so many but we will give some of our favourites. The Dyna Jets, Medicine Boy, The Gumbo Ya-Ya’s, Drunk Girls, Heroine and The Very Wicked.

AJT: You’ve just finished recording your second album, how was that?
RL: Our first record, Youth Is Like A Loaded Gun, came out last year and was pretty much a live recording we did at Peace of Eden Recording Studios in the Knysna forest. The one we’re bringing out now we spent a little more time on in terms of every aspect surrounding the record.

AJT: How long has it taken you?
RL: The recording took a few days and everything else is still slowly being put together.

AJT: And what can we expect from it?
RL: For this record we were aiming for a more atmospheric vibe but still representing the Retro Dizzy live sound, so that when you listen to the record at home, in your car or in the hospital it just sounds like we playing in your ears.

AJT: Do you have a release date?
The CD should be out in the next month or so and the vinyl will follow shortly after. 

AJT: You just played at Burger Revolution: Cape Town, that line up looked so good, how did the gig go?
RL: Fucking rad man, such a good vibe and good music all round. Big ups to Warren and Kirby for organising such a cool event. Being such big fans of Burger Records it was really cool to be involved in one of their global events. We really love the music they represent.

AJT: Did you catch any of the other bands?
RL: Yeah of course man, they’re all our friends. And they all killed it.

AJT: Can you give us a taste of some of your favourite bands/musicians?
RL: Here’s a few for you. The Black Angels, Night Beats, BRMC, Holy Wave, Allah-Las, Arctic Monkeys. Temples, The Doors, T-Rex and the Cramps.

AJT: And lastly, are you heading out on tour any time soon?
RL: We working on something for the middle of the year man. And how about a London tour, speak to your people.

Hear more of Retro Dizzy at their BandCamp and follow the band on Facebook.