Back in June, The Skinner Brothers opened for The Music’s all-dayer comeback at Temple Newsum in Leeds. Much like The Coral did in 2002 at Finsbury Park, they announced themselves to many as pretenders to the throne. They blew the Snuts off stage and edged The Coral and The Cribs off too. Nothing that day was stopping The Music from being triumphant though.
Fast forward to this past Thursday and they were headlining Chinnerys in Southend. With home county support from The Lucettas and hometown support from San Quentin, you’d have been forgiven for thinking the same could have happened to them.
Not a chance!
In support of their latest EP ‘Lonedom’, they played the title track and ‘Mellow’. ‘Lonedom’, ironically ignores its message and unites a crowd in a sweat-ridden singalong. Meanwhile, the guitar hooks of ‘Mellow’ resound out like Carl Barat playing lead for the Arctic Monkeys
The acclaimed ‘Soul Boy II’ album makes up the bulk of the set. ‘Culture Non-Stop’ and ‘Iconic’ see Zachary Skinner’s laconic drawl drift through the seaside air to remind everyone who the mortal ones are. Whereas on record, the band often gets into a soulful groove, here, they are harder and faster. It takes their soulful sound towards The Reytons but with far more depth.
In 2002, The Libertines launched their good ship Albion. Not many fellow bands got it. The Skinner brothers did. Their rapport, free beers, and demanding people on their shoulders (and fuck the consequences) brought rock ‘n’ roll closer to the punters for the first time in a long time.