Skinflick

I ARRIVED far too early for this event, so took the opportunity to visit the ever-trendy Camden Town and cruise around some of North London’s more traditional pubs. I got to the Hope & Anchor about 6pm and settled down to a surpringly decent pint of Abbot, despite having to return the second glass due to the fact that it had gone off. If I’d have wanted a pint of vinegar I’d have popped into the local kebab shop beforehand. Luckily, however, the fact that I had to spend the rest of the evening drinking sub-standard John Smiths did not set a precedent. Skinflick were excellent. Some of you will recall that I recently reviewed the Welsh band’s ‘Two Ton Loser’ E.P. and was pretty impressed with the whole thing. I’m glad to say that my studio impression of Skinflick was further enhanced by their live appearance in London. They began their set by launching into the title track of that very E.P., although tonight they were restricted to vocals, lead guitar, bass and drums. One of the great things about the E.P., of course, are the haunting female vocals, but Skinflick have not been able to reproduce that in a live setting because one of the girls was unable to come along on the band’s mini-tour of the UK. So it was to be a rather different and slightly depleted Skinflick that turned up at the Hope & Anchor on this chilly Autumn evening, although they still managed to turn in a fine display of musical abilty and timing. ‘Indifference’ came next, with the excellent ‘Burns Bright’ arriving shortly afterwards. I love the female vocals on this latter track, so it was a great shame that it was performed without them. Mind you, Justin’s growling vocals more than made up for this slightly more contracted version. Although Skinflick have written something in the region of 800 songs, thus far I had only heard the E.P. but their final three tracks - ‘Rise’, ‘Dictator’ and ‘Sirens’ - were all brilliantly delivered and each with a catchy, anthemic beat. The most disappointing thing about the evening was the fact that a mere handful of people had bothered to turn up for what, in reality, served as little more than a rehearsal. The two bands that followed Skinflick onto the venue’s postage stamp of a stage, notably Dopamine and Majik, were barely half as good and certainly not in their league. As I told Justin afterwards, Skinflick deserve far better than a Monday night slot in a cramped basement. They didn’t even get paid, for Christ’s sake. But in the money-soaked world of contemporary Metal, making the breakthrough is harder than ever. The good news, on the othe hand, is that Skinflick were asked to come back and also invited to a special Rock night elsewhere. Watching them speed off to Leicester in a four-bed camper van for the next leg of their tour, I couldn’t help feeling a little frustrated that such a talented band may find it a real struggle to compete with the artificially-engineered crap that ultimately ends up gracing the cover of Kerrang magazine. But it was an enjoyable night and I wish them well.

Skinflick website: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/skinflick_music/