12 // Band of Skulls // Himalayan
The third of a cluster of albums in the middle of
this year’s list that trace their musical roots to the rock bands of the mid to
late 1970s. This third record by
Southampton’s Band of Skulls is
perhaps their best yet. The riffs are
great, and the ongoing vocal-off between Russell
Marsden and Emma Richardson hasn’t before
sounded quite this vital. This is really
Marsden’s show, though: Richardson is a perfectly good bassist, and
drummer Matt Hayward does nothing wrong either, but Marsden’s guitar playing is
what makes Band of Skulls stand
out. The title track’s rumble-rock is a
highlight, as is the impossible-not-to-bounce-to (should have been a single)
‘Hoochie Coochie’. There are a few missteps: Himalayan is definitely overlong and
could have done with a few of its weaker tracks being left off (i.e., this
suffers from the polar opposite problem to The
Birds of Satan record). Judged by its best moments, this would
probably be pushing for a top 5 spot, but overall it still hits way more high
notes than low. Well worth getting.