CD: “It’s A Funeral Not A Fashion Statement” by Skeleton Kid

3 piece punk band Skeleton Kid hail from Bournemouth and have slowly been building a loyal local following since forming in 2011, despite a couple of line-up changes along the way.

They describe their loud raucous style of music as “shadow punk”, drawing influences from both the harsh, raw sound of punk acts and the stadium-ready gang-vocal led choruses of 80’s glam metal, with a couple of death metal growls thrown in for good measure. This is Skeleton Kid’s debut album, and with only one debut EP under their belts so far, it’s sure to be a real test of whether or not the band can pull all their influences together into one cohesive sound.

As the first track “Goodbye” kicks in, it seems at first that they can’t. It starts with a promisingly sinister drumbeat accompanied by a throaty, chugging guitar riff and continues in to a fairly standard verse, albeit one with good, strong vocals. And then, around the one minute mark, all hell promptly breaks loose and the proper metal screams start to kick in, the whole thing finishes with a female vocal tossed in at the end. Well, that was confusing. Second track “You Army” isn’t much better; a vicious slab of punk rage that, for the majority of people, is probably going to induce a strong desire to sit in a darkened room and listen to some Emeli Sande until their ears stop ringing. However, you really shouldn’t do that, you should stay and persevere, because actually, when you get used to the raw production, this is really good stuff.

Skeleton Kid manage the rare trick of combining a truly authentic, red in tooth and claw punk sound with hair metal style choruses designed to bellowed back to the band by an arena full of devoted fans, and doing it well. The production of this whole album is minimal, taking you as close to the blood, sweat and tears of an actual live show as possible, and that’s part of what makes the first 2 tracks of this album so jarring. However, it’s clear that the band are actually very talented musicians, any doubt about this fact is removed by the guitar solo on “Miles From Home”, it’s a jaw dropping piece of guitar work. The whole track is an album highlight, it shows off some seriously powerful vocals from singers Timmy and Frankie, and in a world with any justice, could be a real breakout hit for this band.

It’s heavy enough for any rock purist, but catchy enough for a casual mainstream listener to enjoy too. “It’s a Funeral Not A Fashion Statement” soon revels itself to be packed with gems, with “Memories” and “We Stand Tall” both standing out with their huge gang-vocal driven choruses. More synth-heavy number “Save Us Now”, marks a slight change of style for the band, but it’s a nice song that shows Skeleton Kid can easily handle stepping away from the classic punk model of two guitars-one drummer. By the time final track “Tear It Down” brings things to a close with yet another face-melting guitar solo, any fence sitters and non-believers should certainly have been converted.

Overall, “It’s a Funeral Not A Fashion Statement” is a very good debut album which really sees Skeleton Kid rise to the challenge of combining punk with hair metal and not losing the spirit of either. It might take a couple of listens to fully appreciate this album, but once it’s in your head you won’t want to listen to anything else. And, by the second or third listen even “Goodbye”, that bonkers first track will become a firm favourite which you’ll end up driving your neighbours mad with. Don’t say you weren’t warned!

Get Your Copy of the album here.

Skeleton Kid are
Timmy C – Bass and vocals
Frankie G – Guitar and Vocals
Josh D – Drums

Track-Listing
Goodbye
You Army
Going Nowhere Fast
Memories
We Stand Tall
Bones Beyond
Miles From Home
Saves Us Now(The End)
Tear It Down)

Band Links
http://twitter.com/skeletonkidband
http://www.facebook.com/skeletonkiduk
http://www.youtube.com/skeletonkidband

Contact The Band For Bookings skeletonkid@live.co.uk.

Review By Elinor Day.