Sonic Boom 6 / The Skints
15th October 09 -
Relentless Garage
Highbury and Islington.
The Skints
I’d heard good things about the Skints from various whispers
around town but never actually heard them until tonight and I just
wish I’d seen them sooner. With everything based around a modern
rude-boi reggae style the band have a real slinky feel to them with
each track floating along soon creating a crowd of nodding heads.
Each time I looked up to the stage the singer Marcia was picking up
a different instrument starting of with Keyboard providing the reggae
upstrokes and then to flute, saxophone and even melodica throwing
each of these instruments into the mix to keep the sounds diverse.
I realised that for a reggae band the Skints do have a very streetwise
and forceful sound nestling up against the Morcheeba like calm and
its this juxtaposition that makes them so instantly likeable without
them sounding like a bunch of punks playing a few upstrokes, They
are carving out their own sound and its brought together a lot of
influences in a very unique way.
Pic: Spaztacular (more here)
The band who are on SB6’s Rebel Alliance records
have got complete control over their music with well written songs
hinting at slight elements of The Streets if they were really into
reggae music, especially on the vocals and backing on ‘Contemplations
of a modern rude boy’ a brilliant upbeat story style tune that
you can download from rebelalliance.com alongside the other bands
on the label.
I might seem strange to some that they aren’t a bit more abrasive
or distorted and tend to ride the wave of calm slinky tunes throughout
most of their set so if you like your tunes strictly punk rock this
might not be the band for you but on most line ups a band like the
Skints represent a welcome breath of fresh air and a new direction
of reggae and ska roots. Go and catch this band for a chance to get
in some really silly dancing and to allow them to make you feel happy.
Sonic Boom 6
Sonic Boom 6 work so well combining the skanking riddims of ska with
the ferocity of punk and cutting it neatly with well written songs,
a mix of genres and a lot of great lyrics and choruses that bring
you up emotionally when you listen to them. This is a band that can
keep the crowd dancing in different styles through the set and keep
the songs in your head after the show and that really is the mark
of a great band.
Each song of the set contains a killer hook of its own and a hint
towards a number of different genres from hip hop, ska, dub and punk
and it’s just a case of picking your favourite tonight. ‘Piggy
in the Middle’ with its nod to the old school Capdown era ska
punk is an obvious highlight tonight as is ‘Sound of a Revolution’
one of the bouncier tracks of the evening. A special mention should
be made of ‘An ode to DIY promoters’ a vitriolic blast of
punk rock that last all of thirty five seconds and thanks all those
who have helped put on shows for SB6 over the years just out of love
for the band and the scene. Technically the band are flawless and
so well rehearsed and the set delivers everything the die hard crowd
want tonight.
Pic Rob Evans - more here
At the end of the set the band announce that guitarist
Ben is leaving and that this will be his last London show so as a
special treat Laila and Ben play the last song off the bands newest
album together before the entire band rejoin them for a rendition
of their first ever demo track which ties the night up nicely and
gives all in the crowd a sense of the band’s history. It’s
a shame to lose the original three way vocals of SB6 but it wont slow
them down and will just take the band in new directions which has
always been their strength. Always a band to keep an eye on I can
see Sonic Boom 6 continuing to do great things with their genre terrorism
sound and DIY approach.
Matt Turner - freakofthepit@hotmail.com
please contact for reviews & interviews
Go to rebelalliancerecordings.com
to download the label sampler featuring cracking tracks from the Skints
and SB6 alongside a dubstep remix of random hand and tracks from Mouthwash
and the Babylon Whackers
