Band Of Skulls
Korova, Liverpool
05/02/2010

Purported to be the UK’s answer to The White Stripes, it would seem that Band Of Skulls may be ten years too late. This Southampton trio follow a similar musical lineage to Jack and Meg, and their sometimes blues, sometimes rock, sometimes grunge sound. It’s sometimes confusing, and it’s nothing new. They’re certainly popular, though; this venue hasn’t been so busy since it upped and moved across town. A popularity no doubt down to their association with a film about sparkly vampires. ‘Fires’ featured on the soundtrack to ‘Twilight: New Moon’ and it’s one of the highlights of tonight.

They begin appropriately with album opener ‘Light of the Morning’, which by all accounts is a great rock & roll song, and equally ‘Cold Fame’ is a great slow-burner, but both are sonic polar opposites, and make Band Of Skulls sound pretty aimless. They explore genres like they’ve read the Wikipedia description, cherry-picked the familiar parts and forged them together blindly without creating anything that’s unique or interesting. Of course, this may not sound like a bad thing as anyone with ears would attest that popular rock music is in dire need of an update, and the rough-around-the-edges sound is, in parts, charming.

On the whole, however, tonight’s performance is like listening to a beginners’ guide to alternative rock, or, an entire day tuned into Absolute Radio, which is never a good thing.

Mike Doherty