When Skunk Anansie called it a day after three highly successful albums in 2001, many would have thought it had a lot to do with the growing different personalities within the band. However, if you dig a little deeper, the reason was soon revealed that the band had simply come to a natural conclusion, and that everything that had to be said from the four individuals had been said over the course of those three albums
Guitarist Ace was the first off the ranks with his rather eclectic solo album Still Hungry earlier in the year (Along with bassist Cass in tow), while Mark Richardson joined the vacant drummer position within Feeder. Skin on the other hand, took the time to develop her song writing skills of a different nature to what most were used to, and both quietly and slowly piece together her debut solo album Fleshwounds
Fleshwounds is anything but a Skunk Anansie carbon copy, and instead brings the vocal abilities within Skin to the point of it being the albums predominate feature first and foremost
There’s plenty of pain and beauty in equal parts on the heartfelt ‘Faithfulness’, with Skin not only towering over anything vocal wise she’s attempted in the past, but also revealing a feminine side that was masked with political and social awareness in Skunk Anansie
The first single lifted from the album is ‘Trashed’, and is perhaps the albums most melodic and straight forward track, while ‘Don’t Let Me Down’ and ‘The Trouble With Me’ could well have been recording in some late night club with the lights down low, and the attention focussed solely on Skin without the chatter to destroy the moment. ‘Listen To Yourself’ and ‘I’ll Try’ are as rock sounding as the album gets (Which isn’t rock really), while the simple piano accompaniment to ‘You’ve Made Your Bed’ and ‘As Long As That’s True’ are both emotionally raw and touching
Fleshwounds boasts a host of highly regarded musicians in the business, but the real star here is Skin and her songs. Fans of Skunk Anansie may only appreciate this from a vocal point of view, rather than a musical one, but there’s little doubt that this is the work of an artist that has been dealt blows both from the gentle and harsh sides of love, and found a way to channel both without losing herself in selfish sentimentality
The bottom line is that is not what I had expected, but it’s everything I could have possibly asked for from Skin and her songs
---