Album Reviews

3/5

Band of Skulls play garage-blues rock ‘n’ roll that makes the “British Black Keys” comparison almost impossible to ignore. So is the band’s second studio album Sweet Sour likely launch the band into the spotlight? Are the new songs sweet, sour, or just inedible? Thankfully the metaphorical taste is nice enough, but we suspect that Gordon Ramsay would swear (literally) that this dish isn’t good enough for Band of Skulls to receive any music michelin stars.

If you liked 2009′s Baby Darling Doll Face Honey, then you will like this new album. The Devil Takes Care of His Own is a decent Led Zeppelin-meets-Black Keys-meets-White Stripes mix of dirty loud riffs and hefty drums. The title track will remind you that Black Sabbath are hoping to damage ear drums again soon. Again, going down the power-riffing route is You’re Not Pretty But You Got It Goin’ On which would perhaps make Jimmy Page soil his trousers.

Unfortunately this route has been travelled many times, with Led Zep, the Black Keys, and Jack White setting the bar rather high for the Skulls to reach. Therefore the more successful moments of Sweet Sour prove to be when the band adds something different to the mix. Single Bruises sounds like the band trying to do Radiohead’s Fake Plastic Trees before (successfully) going back to their preferred big riffing antics towards the end of the track. More surprising is the sweet and dreamy Lay My Head Down with the soothing vocal harmonies, while the beautiful Navigate also being a welcome change.

Ultimately Sweet Sour is a good solid album. However, the band need to experiment more in the kitchen to find that secret ingredient to get critics and the public ravenous for more. Perhaps the Black Keys could give them a glance at their delicious garage-blues rock ‘n’ roll recipe? Yum.

Words by Peter Warne

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