By Monk
Imagine if Dave Grohl and Chris Shiflett temporarily teamed up with Messrs Difford and Tilbrook, and then brought in the Wildhearts gang to jam out a collection of grunge-fuelled alternative power pop earworms and you’re somewhere in the vicinity of the sound generated on this, the debut album from Bournemouth newcomers Skinny Knowledge.
The brainchild of vocalist/guitarist Andy L Smooth, ‘Don’t Turn Out The Lights’ is a declarative commentary for our times, even if some of the tracks originally trace their roots back some four years, capturing the angst, the anger, the fear and the frustration many of us have felt over the past year, yet simultaneously, as it’s title intimates, indicating brighter days ahead, if we manage to keep our shit together and get through all the other detritus around us.
Smooth wears his influences very clearly on his sleeve, from the Nirvana-esque grunge groove of the opening title track and ‘Get Away’ through the out-and-out ferocious pop punk of ‘King Of Nothing’, ‘This Time’ and the Green Day homage of ‘Take The Blame’. Where Smooth succeeds is in blending these different but related sounds together with effortless ease into a glorious selection of power pop anthems that grab you from the first second to the last, keeping your foot tapping almost incessantly throughout, while also appealing on the cerebral level with some extremely erudite and thought-provoking lyrics, which add to the beautiful charm of the overall listening experience.
‘Don’t Turn Out The Lights’ is a confident, convincing and declarative debut from an impressive young talent who has an ear for a catchy riff and a well-phrased lyric, and the ability to craft them into a highly entertaining and encouraging set of songs that not only reflect the need for uplifting rock ‘n’ roll in these trying times, but also reveal a great potential for the future. Well done, Mr Smooth… now, can I have a banana with that?
- ‘Don’t Turn Out The Lights’ is released today (Friday 5 March). You can get your copy HERE.
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