The Skints - Part & Parcel Mp3

It may have been a long time coming, but the second Skints album, Part and Parcel, is here and in a word it is Skintastic. I am aware, of course, that isn’t a real word, but I feel in this case it is appropriate. It hit me when listening to the album, sitting out in the beautiful spring sunshine (where it is in its element may I add) that a new word in this case is entirely necessary; the Skints really are in a class of their own at the moment. Despite having its weak links, fundamentally this is a superb collection of great songs that invoke a rich melting pot of summery feelings and is well worth your attention.

Rise Up, the opening track, is one of the albums strongest songs but also representative of the album as a whole. More Reggae/Ska than the Ska/Punk of their past, Part and Parcel is much more accessible than their similarly brilliant debut Live.Breathe.Build.Believe. But longstanding Skints fans, like myself have nothing to fear. This still sounds and feels like a Skints record but an evolution on what has come before. Rather than the guitar providing the weight to their sound, the bass takes over. Produced by reggae legend Prince Fatty, the production is rich and fully fleshed out and really does the songs justice. Rise Up is dubby, skanking and really demonstrates how the Skints distribute their vocals so successfully. Marcia’ soft, almost venerable voice contrasts beautifully against the slightly harsher tones of Josh and Jamie. Ranging from rapping on the track Soundboy, to the harmonies on Can’t Take No More, the Skints have excelled themselves in this respect.

Ratatat, the lead single, is fantastic and probably the most progressive sounding track on the album. Part and Parcel does sees the Skints resting back on their influences much more than on their debut. Sometimes this approach doesn’t really work like on Ring Ring, Sunny Sunny and You Better, the weakest tracks on the album, but the absolute tune Lay You Down and the brilliant Rubadub (Done Know), whilst harking back, they are so well written and fun that it becomes irrelevant what other thing it is trying to sound like. Despite a more classically reggae structure, this still sounds like a product of 2012, such as one of the standout tracks, Live East Die Young, which really is an exceptional song and one that has stuck with me.

I know for certain I shall be returning to songs on this album all summer and beyond, this isn’t a perfect album but if you want great reggae for the twenty-first century look no further than The Skints of London Town.

9.0/10

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