Out now ! Skinny Lister’s new album “A Matter of Life & Love”
I’ve spent a significant portion of the lockdown listening to the 5th anniversary re-issue of their brilliant 2015 album “Down on Deptford Broadway”. It’s loud, raucous, lively…. vibrant and well, just in your face amazing. A real mood lifter if ever there was one.
“A Matter of Life & Love” is their fifth studio album, and the follow up to 2019’s “The Story Is….” I have to say, when I first put the new album on, it felt very very different. Of course it has that unmistakeable Skinny Lister feel to it and a familiarity that is great, but some new bits too, and quite frankly, on first listening I just didn’t know what I thought about it. So I left it for a few days and came back to it again fresh from doing another review.
Folk-punk band Skinny Lister have certainly shaken things up with this one, and “A Matter Of Life And Love” sees them branching out and trying new things and the album veers from traditional shanties to ska, then from rock to their famous (and wonderful) folk-punk across the albums 12 tracks. It’s this variety that threw me I think, but coming back to the album, I realised just how bloody good it is.
The album opens with Shout It Out which has that Skinny vibe to it, Celtic whistle and beats with shout along chorus. It has that Irish drinking song feel to it and it’s certain to be a live favourite with the fans on the upcoming tour.
A pulsing bass and an almost Billy Bragg like opening vocal line introduces us to Tough Stuff Like Us. As the track develops it has an upbeat feel to its tone, but with the central bass driving through it. The chorus section has wonderful subtle, under the surface piano line holding it together. Overall a delightful track.
Then we veer off in a new direction, with the introduction to Like it’s the First Time with its indy pop influence, but retaining its folk sentiments. A slower track, but still upbeat “We’ll be chasing the good times / The good friends / Doing it all over again”. We dive right back into traditional Skinny world with Damn the Amsterdam featuring The Longest Johns, a shanty about a ship called the Amsterdam that runs aground. A pounding simple single drum beat drives us through this vocal performance, showing that sometimes minimal is best.
Next up is title track A Matter of Life and Love. Definitely my favourite track on the album. This one for me has a heavy Madness influence in it’s styling and structure and of course sax section. A real London pub song.
Then we steer a course back to the Irish folk tones with Embers a real traditional feeling Irish song about reminiscing about good times as the fire embers burn away. With plucked guitar, slow subtle drum beat and drawn violin running through it, topped off with delightful vocals from Lorna Thomas. Stunning…..
Bavaria Area continues their tradition of writing songs about real world experiences, this time travelling across Europe and experiences with border guards! Bright and fast paced a lively number from start to finish with a definite Ska influence to it’s guitar elements, before we slow things down again with Bonny’s Eyes with it’s simple acoustic guitar backing before the bass and backing vocals join in. A subtle and delicate number.
We have a much more punk influenced offering next in Life at a Loose End, the chorus elements of which reminded me of The Interrupters, very catchy and definitely one for the crowd to bounce along to.
As we near the end of the album, we have Breakfast at Heathrow with the Irish influence running through it again with whistle and Bodhran (?) providing the main focus and rhythm for the track.
Finally, we come to History and we slow the album right down as it draws to a close. “We build our own destiny…. We are our history” A real beer in your hand, swaying round the piano/fire sing a long track. We end with a sense of family, or togetherness.
The traditional Skinny bits are just as great as ever, but the new bits with a different feel, such as Ska influence are equally good, and actually having listened to it a few times over the last few days, it’s hit me how good the album is. It’s an album about camaraderie, about sticking together through thick and thin, and about cherishing the simple things that life and freedom brings. “A Matter Of Life & Love” is brimming with a zest for life, love, music and good-times !!! It’s great to see the band experimenting with new ideas and influences especially the Madness like A Matter of Life and Love and The Interrupters punk like Life at a Loose End.
But at the end of the day, they don’t stay too far from what they are great at and in particular I loved the Longest John’s collaboration on Damn the Amsterdam. It’s an album that meets the needs of the die hard Skinny Lister fans, but also speaks to a new generation of fans too.
A great album, and worth a 9.0 from LiveWire Music. Right I’m off to practice my shanty singing some more before the tour starts :-)
For More information on Skinny Lister:
Website https://skinnylister.com
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/skinnylister
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/skinnylister
Twitter https://twitter.com/SkinnyLister
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/skinnylister
Skinny Lister hit the road soon to promote their new album, with a UK wide tour starting off in Oxford on 11 November 2021. With some shows sold out, and others with low ticket availability, check out the full schedule below and get in there while you can:
A MATTER OF LIFE & LOVE - WINTER UK TOUR
NOVEMBER
11th - Oxford Academy 2 - Low Ticket Warning
12th - Norwich Art Centre - Low Ticket Warning
13th - Cardiff Globe
17th - Reading, Sub89
18th - Bristol Fleece * (w/ BERRIES)
19th - Manchester Gorilla SOLD OUT
20th - Birmingham Institute 2
24th - Leeds The Wardrobe - Low Ticket Warning
25th - Nottingham Rescue Room - Low Ticket Warning
26th - Newcastle Cluny - SOLD OUT
27th - Glasgow King Tuts * - Low Ticket Warning
DECEMBER
10th - Southampton 1865 - Low Ticket Warning
11th - London Garage SOLD OUT *
with special guests The Longest Johns supporting except *
