Band of Skulls
By Default

A band consisting of skulls sounds a little bit odd I would say. It is a British trio, two guys and a girl who hide behind that moniker and this album called by Default is their fourth album. The biography that accompanied this album did a big thing about this being their fourth claiming that most bands run out of creativity after their first album – I would say that most bands run out of creative idea before even releasing their first album as there are so many bands just copying what others done and I saw a reviewer claiming that this band was just blatantly copying The Black Keys, calling them clones. Anyways, if you manage to make fresh sounding albums four times you do it well but the biography writer seem to think it is an amazing feat, there are bands that have done a lot more albums without loosing their edge so it isn’t that impressive.

Their sound is quite American I would say, don’t know about mentioned The Black Keys as I have not heard said band and I cannot comment on whether or no they do manage to keep their creative edge (if they have one) for this one as I have not heard (of) this band before this album found its way into my review pile. Quite simple sounds really, poppy rock music a bit of garage rock meets blues-rock I think. Pretty catchy tunes and decent variation on a dozen tracks where up-tempo catchy tunes meets those of a lower tempo. It is mostly the male singer who is heard but the girl gets to sing some as well making the album slightly less predictable than it is. Overall though it is hardly a band that reinvents the wheel but they sounds fresh enough to at least merit an existence outside the creative pile of garbage. Good production, rough around the edges while remaining modern and attractive.

I like this album, I think it could have been shorter and some of the lower tempo songs are quite dull but it is still a great album. Good energy, variation, some songs would certainly go really well on the radio although I doubt they will be played on the regular stations here in Sweden. There is a whole lot to like from this trio and their new album, I think at his been enjoyable listening to it and it is one that seems to be very well worth checking out. It will probably appeal to a very wide audience as their music kind of meets in the middle meaning that it will most likely appeal to fans of many different styles of music. I know I like it.

When looking at the tracks I think that the opening pair is the undisputed highlight of the album, then I also think that the fifth track and the tenth track are two more standout tracks. Added to that I think that the album should end after track ten because the last two tracks are really dull and getting rid of them would not hurt the album one bit, rather the opposite. But before I completely loose myself in words and letters I should end this review and I do it by saying that it is certainly worth checking out this album by a band of skulls, I know you are curious so give it a spin.

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