Label: Loma Vista
Released: 26th March 2021
After 2018’s debut ‘My Own Mess’, Aussie punks Skegss are back for a second helping. They come packing more groovy tunes that evoke an easy-going introspection, the kind you’re likely to find around any sizzling beach barbie in the heights of summer.
As those flames flicker and nip at the cooling night of ‘Rehearsal’, the breezy melodies bring through a warming touch that keeps you toasty. Rest assured it’s not all laid back, there’s a certain drive that keeps your feet tapping and your heart racing as the lo-fi vocals ruminate on ‘stuff’.
‘Valhalla’ and ‘Sip of Wine’ crack out a dogged determination that pummels, while ‘Fantasising’ swings with a head-bopping build to its heartfelt chorus about “making better memories”. “I’m not perfect but I’m still happy,” singer Ben Reed murmurs on ‘Curse My Happiness’, and the nods of understanding are picked out through that dusky night encourage to the hurried realisation of ‘Bush TV’.
There’s something a bit Dinosaur Jr-y about Skegss and all their crumbling distorted feeling, its a raw power firmly rooted in the 90s. ‘Fade Away’ and its howling titular refrain leads to a place where the music can overwhelm the feeling, pushing it to a higher level, which is all fine and dandy.
Walking away from the soul-nourishing evening, sand curling up between your toes, with the sounds ‘Lucky’ and its gently strummed acoustic, faint harmonica see you off and ‘Rehearsal’ feels like more than that. It’s the sound of a band determined in who they want to be and what they want to do, and the rehearsal could very well be one for life itself.
