Shout
Okay, so here we have Britain's first Pop/Punk band, or so I'm told. A band that has been around since 1993, which is certainly around the time, if not a little before the genre came together. However, Skimmer are a band that have toured the length and breath of the world supporting bands such as NoFX, Snuff, Lagwagon, Teen Idols, Rocket From The Crypt and Bouncing Souls, to name but a few.
So here we have their new album entitled, 'I'll Tell You What', and the first thing that you will notice is the very sing-along nature of the album, which has elements of all the bands named, albeit in a slightly more amateur way.
First song, 'A Scale Of Five' starts off with chugging guitars, and there is a very Ramones feel to this band. 'The Trouble With Girls' is slightly bubblegum pop having a fight with punk in it's sugar-coated harmonies, and big fat riffs. However the vocals are not the best in the world and at times sound like Kevin Powell is struggling to add power to the high nasal notes. Then there are the perils off going on stage with the informative song, 'Stagestruck', before the slightly more sleazy rock of, 'Thick As Thieves'.
There is something about the thick harmonies and the quick catchy songs that draws you in and though they do give the feeling of jumping up on stage after a hard night's drinking, you can't help but love it. 'I'm The One' is a slow plod of a punk song, which then leads to the faster, 'Gordon & Jordon' which leads us to the real Ramones-esque anthem of, 'Shimokitazawa High'.
There is the gutter street punk of, 'Going On Tour With The Queers' which is fairly self-explanatory with regards to the lyrical content, before the real surf-punk of, 'Small Talk about Girls & Beer' which is one for those bikini swathed beaches in the summer. We then have, 'Kenneth' which you think is going to be an acapella song until the music kicks in around 90 seconds into some verses of great harmonies.
Basically, Skimmer, are the band Silver Sun if you locked them in a room for a week with Ramones CD's and a truck load of alcohol, before sending in some big guys in to kick the beejesus out of them, they would stumble out and onto the stage and sound like this. It's sometimes sloppy, and although the harmonies are dripping with sweet stuff, they aren't commanding enough, however that said this is great surf/pop/punk, the sort of music you hear in the background of extreme sports DVD's. It's a little Naked Apes, and it's a little Yo Yo's, but pretty much it's just Skimmer, being Skimmer, and enjoying themselves doing what they do best. I hope they don't change this formula, 'cause this is some good original stuff, and you're going to have a good time with it! Surfs up!