Skinny Lister will be known to some as a band who’ve shared a label and toured with Frank Turner; to others, a band who’ve made regular appearances at festivals, their quasi-drunken jigs designed to gee up those unwashed tent dwellers well on their way to having a skinful of Doom Bar. …And “designed” is somewhat of a sticking point here. Where you may feel The Pogues had a natural flair for drunken gigs and aggressive performances – it’s well documented that the Pogues bought the party with them wherever, whenever necessary – with Skinny Lister, any relative rowdiness seems very much a facade. Like Bellowhead (a bunch of public schoolboys trying to fool us into thinking they have deep traditions and folk roots) or Mumford & Sons (folk music for those who know almost nothing about folk music), Skinny Lister often sound as if they’re landing on their chosen bandwagon with a mighty thud. The bulk of ‘Down on Deptford Broadway’ is faux folk of the very worst kind.
Author Archives: Real Gone
REVOLUTION ROAD – Revolution Road
Snakes In Paradise, a Swedish band with an unhealthy Whitesnake obsession, released two rather fine albums back in the early-mid 90s. A self-titled/self released disc in 1993 set the bands bluesy AOR stall out for all to see, before a follow up ‘Garden of Eden’ [released on the now defunct MTM Music label] offered much more of the same a couple of years on, with a slightly bigger budget and increased confidence. The band were great at what they did and a good proportion of that greatness laid in the hands of vocalist Stefan Berggren, a man with a confident and natural delivery carrying more than a hint of Europe’s Joey Tempest in his style. SIP were never going to make the world think differently about big eighties rock sounds, but they gained a loyal fan base. Berggren’s talent had not gone unnoticed: after the demise of his own band, he was invited to become vocalist with Company of Snakes, a classic hard rock vehicle for ex-Whitesnake men Micky Moody and Bernie Marsden.
FM – Heroes & Villains
Since reforming in 2007, UK rockers FM have been on a roll. Each of the releases following a twelve year hiatus have reinforced why the band are much loved in melodic rock and classic rock circles. Boasting a dozen strong songs, their ninth studio album ‘Heroes & Villains’ is a very welcome addition to their catalogue.
Dwarves/Svetlanas Euro tour dates
US punk legends Dwarves will be joined by Russian punks The Svetlanas for a European tour throughout April & May. All dates are listed on the poster below. [Read a review of the Adolescents/Svetlanas split EP here.]
Big Big Train to reissue ‘Bard’ as 5.1 deluxe edition
Having spent the first part of their career defining their sound and dealing with shifting line-ups, prog band Big Big Train struck on a winning formula with ‘The Difference Machine’ and ‘The Underfall Yard’, before cementing their popularity with the expansive double set ‘English Electric’.
First released as two separate albums and then a deluxe set, ‘English Electric’ saw the band gain a much bigger fan base and increased press coverage. For those who’ve discovered the band in more recent times, there’s one part of the BBT history that’s absent.