The Skids - Burning Cities - Self
This is the Dunfermline outfit's fifth album in 41 years, but their first in over three decades. Founder Richard Jobson is very much at the helm on this rousing set that recalls the band's earlier works such as Scared to Dance and Days in Europa but delivered with a sense of urgency rather than the middle-aged complacency that dulls many a regrouped post-punk collective. If we still lived in an age of singles, This Is Our World, Up On The Moors and the Kaputt would be ideal choices, while the compassionate Refugee and Kings of the New World Order are considered reflective sleepers with a message in the anthem.
Jobson's in fine fettle, voice-wise, and the Watsons bring the Big Country connection to The Skids in a full-circle bond. I imagine that many of these songs will provoke much beer-swilling and mosh-pit action among a new generation of fans that ought to be investigating this much underrated band's catalogue forthwith, while the die-hards will savour the resurgence.
7/10
Jobson's in fine fettle, voice-wise, and the Watsons bring the Big Country connection to The Skids in a full-circle bond. I imagine that many of these songs will provoke much beer-swilling and mosh-pit action among a new generation of fans that ought to be investigating this much underrated band's catalogue forthwith, while the die-hards will savour the resurgence.
7/10