Any band that attempts a bluesy rock sound in this day and age is going to have people likening them to The White Stripes. With its new album, "Sweet Sour," Band of Skulls attempts to go above and beyond those comparisons and prove that its has a sound of its own.
This is the trio's second album and, while their sound has definitely matured, it has not changed beyond recognition as a three-year gap between albums might very well do. Songs from their first record did garner comparisons between lead singer Russell Marsden's vocals and Jack White's style of singing. The comparisons were fueled by the addition of Emma Richardson's voice and her Meg White sound. Now, however, the band is clearly trying to stray from that path.
Title track and album opener "Sweet Sour" is loud, brash and indicative of the energy contained in the album. The accompanying music video depicts four children acting generally like nuisances. While a deeper reading could provide a better understanding of the video, a superficial interpretation suggests this is the kind of music that makes a perfect soundtrack for being a menace.
The second track, "Bruises," starts off sounding eerily similar to Kings of Leon but progresses into a heavier sound. Richardson's vocals keep the song's similar chord progression from sounding too much like Kings of Leon's "Sex on Fire." The album really picks up and perhaps reaches its peak with "Wanderluster."
Easily the best song on the album, "Wanderluster" starts slowly with a repetitive and catchy guitar riff that slides in and out of the listener's consciousness before building up to a drum-laden chorus. The music is excellent, but the lyrics lack substance as Richardson croons, "What you forgot / I still remember / Far far away / Not long ago." This is not exactly the poetic elegance of Led Zeppelin or the wacky storytelling of The White Stripes, but it does give Richardson something to sing about.
"Devil Takes Care Of His Own," however, is a song that would fail without its chorus. Still, the entire song seems to lack something that even the high energy of the guitar and Matt Hayward's enthusiastic drumming can't satisfy. Band of Skulls tries its hand at the slower, more melodic tunes in "Lay My Head Down," which doesn't quite live up to its potential. Richardson has a soothing enough voice for such a venture, but the band works more successfully as a cohesive unit when each is playing his own instrument with the brash mentality that must have spawned "Sweet Sour."
Thankfully, the next track is exactly the opposite. "You Aren't Pretty But You Got It Going On" is quick and dirty right from the beginning. The guitar in this song seems to be following the same route as The Black Keys, a group that Band of Skulls recently supported on tour. Unlike The Black Keys, however, Band of Skulls has yet to perfect the gritty bluesy style it seems to be striving for so intensely.
"Navigate" is another attempt at a slower song. Unfortunately, it would probably be far more enjoyable out of the context of this album. Songs like this only seem to hold up the more gratifying bluesy, heavier tunes within the flow of the album. The static nature of the guitar and drums in "Navigate" and the repetitive refrain, "Oh we're drifting out to sea / Into deep water," hold a promise of a build-up to something that never comes, leaving only a desire to listen once more to the better songs on the album.
For anyone discovering Band of Skulls for the first time, a good listen to their first album "Baby Darling Doll Face Honey" (2009) is recommended before giving "Sweet Sour" a try. Band of Skulls seems like the sort of band who would put on a really vigorous live show, but some of that energy gets lost through the clean-cut nature of studio recording. The group's sound relies on the static and distortion that comes across best through huge speakers, not iPod headphones.
