Artist: Skunk Anansie
Album: Anarchytecture
Year : 2016
Skin’s voice has the ability to croon you to sleep, raise a tempest of emotions, scare and shock you. I have always thought her voice is the ultimate strength of this band, I don’t think the band brings anything particularly mind blowing to the table. They are just very good at providing Skin with a proper sound and stage to make for a dynamic impact. The music accentuates the qualities of her voices and she lends it a poignant affective quality. She shines when she is accompanied with traditional rock instruments. Melodic, punchy, alternative rock fits her voice better. Or maybe that is just something we are used to. This album seems suggests that.
This album introduces a change in sound that is not drastic enough to alienate long time fans and new enough to attract new fans. Traditional rock instruments meet electronic instruments here. They converge to make a piece of work is seemingly lazy at parts and brilliant in others. For the most part interesting. The bass lines here are groovy and drawl. The lower frequencies shine more in this album.. The guitars shimmer at the fringes or are subdued. Drums don’t sound so crisp except in a few songs. Skin does not raise tempests here. She other, more humble, techniques to tug on your heartstrings. However, it not feel incomplete, inadequate or uninspired; mostly it works.
This isn’t an album that is weak or disappointing. For sure, it isn’t the traditional Skunk Anansie album, not fully, but it is affectively efficient and quite pleasing.
Personally, I miss the Skin that raised tempests ,crooned you to tears and slit your throat with her fingernails in one album. But this will do for now.
Thanks for reading
It’s been a while since I talked music.
“Will you do me the favor? Go slit your skinny throat
Let your blood flow freely, so all your voice can choke
As i rise to defeat you, on revolution road.” – Skunk Anansie ‘I Believed In You’
Sandy Author 