Loma Vista Recordings- 26 Mar 2021
Skeggs release sophomore album of Exuberant Surf-Punk
Rehearsal is the second full length release put out by Australian band Skeggs. The Antipodean trio play a brand of Surf Punk that has undercurrents of Indie, Garage Rock, and even a touch of Folk bubbling away under the surface. As a band they exude an aura of slightly scruffy nonchalance but this belies a keen ear for melody and carefully crafted songs. The thirteen tracks of this album are all shot through with a zest for life. Many of them you could imagine having germinated around a campfire, a crate of beers to hand and the Ocean in the background. They have an optimistically contemplative air to them, musing on the transitory nature of life and the desire to be immersed in both the enjoyment and risk of it.
The Opening track “Down to Ride” succinctly captures this underlying ethos. Lead singer Ben Reed's slightly raspy vocals announce that ‘he's down to ride' and ‘down for life'. The song is a paean to hitting the open road and grasping what life has to offer even in trying times. The rhythm has an infectious excitement to it and underpins the urgency of the exhortation that ‘this is no rehearsal.' There are shades of FIDLAR at work here, both musically and in sentiment.
This joie de vivre is continued in fine style on the following track “Valhalla”, which ups the ante with its anthemic chorus and celebratory feel. The song, which has an accompanying video depicting the band fighting and feasting whilst in full Viking regalia, muses on the good things in life, imagining, ‘all the food you can consume and all the ale you can inhale.' Enjoying a drink is a recurrent theme, possibly informed by Reed's time working at a brewery. “Picturesque Moment”, with its languorous midtempo pace and accompanying harmonica,feels tailor made to be sung along to whilst at least somewhat inebriated.
There are also some less jovial notes struck. For example on “Curse My Happiness” which has a slightly darker tone as it explores ennui and dissatisfaction, albeit whilst maintaining a relatively upbeat twang and the addition of some tambourine. Penultimate track “Fade Away” also exhibits a moodier, reflective timbre and has maybe the rawest vocal of the whole album which embodies a grungier sound to good effect. This segues nicely into the pared down, folkier closing track “Lucky” which utilises acoustic guitar, accompanying whistling and a delicately entwined harmonica line to underpin the vocals.
Rehearsal is an exuberant record tempered with moments of more laid-back, gentler instrumentation and lyrical pondering. There are a couple of moments when the expression of vivacity just about stays on the right side of mawkishness. That said, these are few and for the most part this is a strong and jubilant record which is executed with palpable enthusiasm and solid musicianship . Skeggs feels like a band hitting their full stride and theirs is a ride which I suspect is going to kick up a notch going forward.