CD Review: Matt Skiba and The Sekrets - Babylon

Written by Petra Whiteley Wednesday, 30 May 2012 15:51

Artist: Matt Skiba and The Sekrets
Title: Babylon
Genre: Punk Rock / Alternative Rock
Release Date: 7th May 2012
Label: Superball Music

Album Review

MATT SKIBA is lead singer for ALKALINE TRIO from Chicago; he’s here with his second solo album with his backing band under the title of MATT SKIBA AND THE SEKRETS. I have to admit I struggle with the Punk Rock genre, it just seems a pilfering of spirit of Punk, a genre populated by musicians who prance around like likeable rebels but really come out as rebels without guts and balls to anyone who actually appreciated the original Punk with its attitude, sneer and middle finger to mainstream and establishment. There simply seems very little substance behind the affected image.  It’s commercialised and packaged for the general population of music fans with few demands and expectations, who would like to be different from the pop milieu but really aren’t.

SKIBA describes himself as “a vagabond, a minstrel and an artist” but I don’t really feel any great difference from all those above described. Even if he still considered ‘tortured soul’ mindset more conductive (to affect it) and not his clean cut of today to make music I don’t think it’d have been any different. At first listen it was even difficult to be able to differentiate songs here; it seemed just like one with few different facets. The best moment would be ‘Luciferian Blues’ and ‘Falling Like Rain’, which has a touch of Electro/ New Wave and melancholy that may remind of THE CURE, but without their more complex pathos and the more quirkier ‘Angel of Deaf’. Objectively speaking, it’s a good performance if generic, except few exceptions such as the songs above that stand above the general cut of it. On a personal level, however, it bored me to near death. The positive thing of it is that it made me want to play some real Punk.


Tracklist

01. Voices
02. All Fall Down
03. Luciferian Blues
04. Haven’t You
05. The End Of Joy
06. You
07. Olivia
08. Falling Like Rain
09. How the Hell Did We Get Here?
10. Angel of Deaf


Line-up

Matt Skiba – Gitarre / Gesang
Hunter Burgan – Bass
Jarrod Alexander – Drums


Websites

https://www.facebook.com/mattskibaandthesekrets


Cover Picture




Rating

Music: 6
Sound: 6
Total: 6 / 10


Buy the album here!