I’ve started listening to Planet Rock years in the morning. There’s one thing I’ve noticed, anything from the last decade, I’m crap on. I know the songs, the years? Nah. Yet, give me one in the 80s or 90s and I’m all over it – you can challenge me if you like, but I digress.
The point is that at any point between 94-99 when I moved jobs, you could have found me in a record shop each lunchtime. Some of the greatest music ever made was made in that period.
And I’m willing to bet that if Skinny Knowledge had been around then, I’d have bought their stuff too.
“twentytwo”- which sees several co-writes with Matt Bigland of the awesome Dinosaur Pile-up- starts with “I Wanna (Rock N Roll)” as bouncy as any mid-90s Senseless Things tune. Maybe Christine Keeler is coming back finally (If you know, you know) and the fact I’ve gone on about times 30 years ago doesn’t make it dated or, god forbid, classic. Rather, “Disobey” proves there’s so much energy here. Albeit it is perhaps slightly heavier than before on their other albums.
But “Strike Out” evokes memories of bands like Honeycrack, so much so that you don’t even notice the emotions that are being evoked in the words. (And if I’m getting Honeycrack references out, you can be sure I’ve enjoyed it…..)
There is a serious feel to this though, for all the grins in the sound. “Going Up In Smoke” for all that it recalls MV faves The Zico Chain, sees singer Andy L Smooth yell “I’m asking for help but Nobody’s listening”. Likewise, the self-doubt is laid bare again in “The Devil Lives Within” but the clever juxtaposition of the words and the ridiculously mellifluous music is what makes this special.
It’s expertly played too. There’s a chunky groove on “Goes Around Comes Around) that has a sort of Green Day feel, or it does until it goes all raw.
If we’ve mentioned Honeycrack in this already, then “A Song About Lunch” is more The Jellys (and for the second time, if you know, you know,) it’s ludicrous but fun.
“Home” and its harmonies slow the pace and in this company, it passes as a ballad, and things get proper punk on the brilliant “Too Scared To Live”. This is an anthem for the anxiety-ridden. The absolute shining highlight of the album.
“Hate That I Miss You” is a ballad, whoever she is did a job, and I think I might know her. It ends with a raucous metal freak out, “Heavy Metal Inter2de”.
So on the one hand you’ve got an album that’s bouncier than a 2-year-old on a 3-day Skittles bender, on the other, some lyrics genuinely make you hope that Smooth is OK.
Whatever, it makes for a fabulous record – and that’s true whatever year it came out in.
Rating 8.5/10
