 |
| |
|
| |
Album Review
by SashaS
2-6-2003
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
| Skin: from a shouter to a crooning babe |
|
Skin: 'Fleshwounds'
(EMI)
Skin: from a rock-activist to a passion-babe
Strange times afoot: it looks like it is enough to be a blonde, able to wear a miniskirt and hold a mic at the same time and your future in entertainment is secure. Quality, for that we look somewhere else, among ‘veterans’, perhaps? Over the few current weeks we’ve seen a return of some of the great singers this country’s produced in a while: Cerys Matthews, now Skin and Dave Gahan and next week, we have Annie Lennox’s CD. Cerys’s delightful and quirky album, ‘Cockahoop’ has only entered the album’s chart at No. 30 – go figure.
Former Skunk Anansie frontwoman Skin, i.e. Deborah Dyer, makes her highly anticipated return to the music scene with ‘Fleshwounds’, which was preceded by a single ‘Trashed’ that only managed a Top 30 place (whilst the Eurovision ‘nul-pointers’ Jemini entered at No. 15!?) Passionate and emotive ballad, built around a striking chorus, it not only showcases Skin’s songwriting prowess but also acts as a good taster for her debut solo album. These intimate recordings, several pages of emo-diary of the former fierce frontman of the band that sold over 4 million albums and scored eight UK Top 40 hits, are surprise and delight.
Gone are the Sapphic rantings with the band that furnished our pleasure centres with such catchy pop-tunes as ‘Yes, It’s F**king Political’, ‘Intellectualise My Blackness’ and ‘Little Baby SwastiKKKa’, the shaven head has been covered with a new hairdo and ‘Fleshwounds’ is a showcase for a mellower, more reflective Skin, singing and crooning beautiful songs to reveal her romantic side, no more denial of crying, on ‘Fleshwounds’.
The album opens with radio-friendly ‘Faithfulness’ that shouldn’t disappoint the forming army of Evanescence fans and the stark honesty of it continues throughout the disc, be it ‘Don’t Let Me Down’ or ‘The Trouble With Me’ or ‘You’ve Made Your Bed’, and the woman sings with such emotion that it is hard to believe it is the same shouty, screaming activist of the Skunk Anansie history. There are moments when Skin reminds us of those days, on ‘Listen To Yourself’, with its de-tuned and ripping bass; alas, it impresses less than the rest of the ‘Fleshwounds’ content.
Will this one track be enough for the disfranchised fans of her former band is doubtful but these are great pop-rock songs full of melodies, catchiness and an incredible voice. But, named Skin, it might be a tad too Rock’n’Roll for this kinda music, wethinks.
8/10
SashaS
2-6-2003
Skin’s debut solo album ‘Fleshwounds’ is released 02 June 2003 by EMI
|
|
|
