Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

I love the Skinflowers! There! I've said it. I love it that this debut album is difficult to listen to because, frankly, it's deliberately interesting! I love it that they manage to combine strong melody, poetic lyrics and enigmatic music on something as beautiful as "Transatlantic Love Song" or "Green Stick Fracture". I also love the way they reserve the right to shake the listener out of their seat with the rawer "The Last Time I Blinked I Was Okay" or the clever, clever lyrical references of "Newstwentyfour". The latter takes in a psalm and a famous cheesy Christmas song without missing a beat and demonstrates the strength of the writing contained on 'Data In A Hurry'. Big themes and soul-searching questions emerge from a critique of 21stt century culture and lifestyle. Hard to pick a favourite but "I Don't Need More Money I Need More Time" really hits the spot for me both musically and lyrically summing up the feeling that pervades the whole album that today's fast paced culture is to the detriment of our souls. Spiritual, without the whiff of cliché or blandness, this is emotional music with a fragmented sound that simply underpins their observations. An excellent follow up to the 'Man Of Blood' EP, this is fabulous, fascinating and challenging - everything that's best about independent releases is here.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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