This review courtesy of Uncle Nemesis www.starvox.net and may not be reproduced without permission.

First release from the reformed and revitalized Skeletal Family, and here's something which might surprise (and perhaps alarm) the diehard old-skoolers who recall the band from their earlier line-ups: this album is most definitely not an excuse for a bout of retro-goth nostalgia. In fact, if you kept the band name secret and told me this was the debut recording by an abrasive, punchy new outfit, eager and hungry to make their mark, I'd be highly inclined to believe you. Certainly, if you're expecting a xerox of the band's old sound, or some sort of exercise in pretending that it's 1984 all over again, then you may wish to pass quietly on to the next review. This is new...and it's also rather fine stuff.

Having said all that, the album does actually open with a brief nod to the band's past. The tune of the first track, 'Faithless Whore' makes reference to the old Batman TV theme, which was Skeletal Family's novelty cover number at gigs in the past. The band don't exactly cover the tune here (in fact, I suspect they've deliberately introduced enough musical differences to ensure that this version doesn't count as a cover) but the connection is clear enough for anyone who can spot it - that familiar riff doing its thing under what is, in other respects, a lively slice of new-wavey rock. And that's very much the overall style here: Skeletal Family have re-invented themselves as a bunch of new wave surfers with a spiky, spunky, punk-pop sound which, in these days of The Bravery and Franz Ferdinand, comes across as very fresh and contemporary.

It's not all a frantic rush, mind. The album features a few slowies along the way - in particular 'Waiting', which marries crashing power ballad chords to plaintive vocals, and 'Alive Again', which is all atmospheres and swooning. But the uptempo numbers are where the band really stakes out its ground, as on 'Lies', with its sixties-inspired garage-rock feel, all distortion and keening keyboards, and 'Hearts Beating', which almost has a touch of vintage Cure about it. 'Delirium' is the atmospheric weirdness piece, very early-Blondie in a way, while 'All My Best Friends' packs a real post-punky wallop, with its thunking, gutsy, bass, hard-hitting drums, and electronic helicopter noises rattling in the background. How, I ask you, can you fail to love a track which features electronic helicopter noises?

Skeletal Family also throw a brace of covers into the mêlée, and here I think the band drops a couple of clues to their musical territory, as if we hadn't guessed already. Iggy Pop's 'Nightclubbing' is given a raunchy but minimalist makeover, blues-metal guitar solos and all, and emerges sounding like the kind of striptease music you might hear down in some of Soho's more interesting late night establishments. I can imagine Jimmy Page propping up the bar as he listens to this one, nodding along appreciatively as the guitar grinds and churns. And then there's a gloriously bug-eyed rush at Devo's geek-classic, 'Gut Feeling', upon which the band stay very faithful to the original, but are obviously having fun. 

What's more (and here's a definite plus point from my point of view), the production throughout has that splendidly raw feel of the band right there in the room with you. Anyone who wants to know how to record a live rock band on a limited budget - which, given that Skeletal Family are operating in a DIY fashion these days, I'd guess is very much how this album was made - should give this album a listen, because these songs really do insert themselves into your ears in no uncertain fashion. Nostalgic 80s heads may find themselves reluctant to file this album under G for goth, but that won't matter. The rest of us will simply file it under G for good. 

The following courtesy of Aiden www.midnightcalling.com. Not to be reproduced without the authors permission.

If you expect "Sakura" to sound like Skeletal Family in the days with Anne-Marie, you might be disappointed. But time moves on, and so has Skeletal Family. "Sakura" proves that Skeletal Family doesn't have to rest on past laurels, and they are just as relevant today as they were twenty years ago. "Faithless Whore" starts fast, with shouted vocals and ominous keyboards bringing in the rest of the band at a gallop. The catchy "Lies" is next, with lyrics that always give me flashbacks to people I've kown. Martin's rolling percussion lays the foundation. "Hearts Beating" reminds me somewhat of '80s groups like the Motels and Missing Persons. This is a very danceable song, with driving percusion and a flamenco-like guitar bridging over to the last half of the song where Claire's vocals drop to an air of resignation before the finish. "Waiting" is one of my favorite tracks, starting slow, dark, with an ominous sort of reverb effect. Claire's plaintive vocals exploding unexpectively into a furious overdrive. The end is like a slamming door as Claire chants "At last I say goodbye". "Only Sometimes" is in the same vein, but with a heavier sound. The echo effect on the vocals adds an atmospheric touch, with sharp guitar bridges and a bit of tribal percussion before the end. The cover of Iggy Pop's "Nightclubbing" has Karlheinz's sax blaring, with a rippling piano over a steady foundation. It sounds like a Mafia movie soundtrack, with Stan's scathing guitar interludes. Claire definitely vamps on this one! "All My Best Friends" is classic Skeletal Family. From beginning to end, this song "rawks". "In my eyes you're dead", says it all! "Delerium" starts with tribal drumming, and the low, almost spoken vocals finally rise to a near shout. "Alive Again" is slow and languid, then rising into a wall of sound, and falling away and rising again. For me, this song really showcases Claire's voice. With "Freak", after slow start, the pace quickens, with almost a Wall of Voodooesque guitar as the song fills out and then spirals to an end. "Lullaby of Hate" has methodical, almost doom-laden percussion, and stark guitar. "You've got murder in your eyes." The closing song, "Gut Feeling" reminds me of Devo meeting the Rolling Stones. Don't ask..... The urgent pace becomes even faster, then the biting and sarcastic vocals rise to a shriek of fury. Frantic and chaotic, the song ends with Claire intoning "I don't know what it sounded like, but it was fun." No doubt about it!

And finally www.sounds2move.de copyright Markus Rutten