(AU magazine, November 2009)
Album review
Southampton trio Band Of Skulls are not without their fame - iTunes and Zane Lowe have hollered their praises far and wide. But don't let that put you off - they're a wee gem for the disenchanted indie rock fan. Flitting from 'Cry Myself Blind'-era Primal Scream on 'Cold Fame' to Kills-style scuzz rock (complete with male/female vocal) on 'Blood' to the almost Turin Brakes 'Honest', they are chameleon and delicious. Schizophrenic and uncompromising, singer Russell Marsden boasts a chart-friendly Radio 2 vocal on some tracks - as on the anthemic 'Fires' - but the addition of some dirty guitars and the suggestive vocal of bassist Emma Richardson as on 'I Know What I Am' swathes their sound in staccato axe cool, modern with a nod to the classic. With all the confidence and swagger of a collection of hoary old American rockers on show, they're never the same band twice. Bliss.
8/10
DOWNLOAD: 'BLOOD', 'FIRES', 'LIGHT OF THE MORNING'.
FOR FANS OF: THE KILLS, THE WHITE STRIPES.
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