Band of Skulls

She grew up in a nice neighborhood...

I love minimalist rock. The White Stripes, The Kills, The Black Keys, these sorts of bands are where it's at for me. Enter Band of Skulls, a rockin three piece act whose debut album, Baby Darling Doll Face Honey, dropped last year.

Boasting a simple rock sensibility and a girl who can sing while playing a solid bass, this band goes a little ways beyond their minimalist counterparts by incorporating vocal harmonies and a little bit of '60s pop smoothness into their songs without losing that blues rock stomp. The first track below, Death by Diamonds and Pearls, is exactly what I'm looking for in a rock song: simple, nasty guitar riff, angry but sexy lyrics, and a noisy, dissonant guitar solo to top things off. As close to perfect as rock gets today, this track would have definitely made my top ten songs of 2009 if I had known about it. It also happens to be the second track on the album (more on that some other time).

The rest of the album moves from heavy rock stomp (Patterns) to more mellow fare (Honest). The album closer Cold Fame is a standout. Overall, the album doesn't quite maintain the momentum generated by track two, but it's a solid effort and a fine example of the elusive rock music that I am searching for.

Death By Diamonds and Pearls
Blood
Cold Fame
Death By Diamonds and Pearls - Live

Fires


Buy the album if you dig

Stew