Skin - 'Fleshwounds' (EMI)
3/5
By: Matt Tomiak
No, it's not f**king political...
Erstwhile Skunk Anansie front-woman Skin's debut solo LP is devoid of the furious lyrics and bone-crunching riffs that her original band made their name with. Instead, Skin's undeniably commanding vocal prowess takes centre-stage on a record that, in her own words, deals uniquely with 'the mental illness that we call love.'
So in come the big heart-rending ballads; out go the wrathful screamers of yore. Indeed, her transition from bile-spewing firebrand to radio-friendly songstress even involves Robbie Williams' former associate Guy Chambers assisting on production-duties and co-writing one track, 'Lost.' And whilst the album has its moments (new single 'Trashed' and the abrasive 'Listen To Yourself'), sadly, there's a whole lotta lesser moments too; the aforementioned 'Lost' and 'The Trouble With Me' being prime culprits.
The ever-slowing pace towards the close doesn't help either. It's not that this is a particularly bad record per se; it's just that 'Fleshwounds' marks a big departure from what once made Skunk Anansie so impacting. But a round of applause at least for the change of direction.
Artists in this article: Skin
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