Skunk Anansie, report on launch of new album ‘The Painful Truth’ by Dawn Osborne
Written by Dawn Osborne on February 26, 2025
Friends of the band, record label, management and music press joined Skunk Anansie at the Dolby Atmos theatre in Soho Square to listen to the new album ‘The Perfect Truth’.
Beforehand in introductory remarks the points were made that this was a world exclusive playback of ten brand new tracks which are a huge leap forward artistically. Vocalist Skin explained that this record had been a long time coming. It had been started pre Covid. The band had bounced mixes around the world but it didn’t work, so they waited till they could get together to finish the record and get it out. “We had huge ups and downs making it, hope you enjoy it as much as we do.”
The band then came to sit in the audience to listen with the rest of the audience. I was intending to take detailed notes, but to all the guests’ surprise the lights were turned off in the all black room with no windows, meaning everyone was plunged into pitch darkness. We then listened to the album from start to finish. Certainly the tracks were different, striking and bold, recognisably Skunk Anansie, but not trying to repeat anything they had done before. Parts of the album verged on poetry, and there was unusual syncopation and sound effects, such that the album cannot be regarded as traditional Rock, although it has the intensity of metal music.
After the performance everyone applauded and the band took seats at the front to discuss the album further. Skin started by saying that after nine years of touring and recording a live album, there was a need to record a fresh studio album. The Pandemic had affected the band’s celebration of 25 years together, their manager of over thirty years retired and they had always been a live band and couldn’t play. When they could eventually get together they realised that the albums they all really liked were produced by Dave Sitek of the band TV On The Radio. It was a crunch time, they realised it was time to move forward or end the band. They decided if they could write together and have fun they had a future. When they called Dave Sitek, it turned out he was a massive fan of the band and they all flew to Sitek’s house in LA, before it burned down in the fires. Sitek had said he didn’t like working with bands: Skin guessed this was because he didn’t want four people arguing over every point. The band decided to trust him and let go of the reins. They made the album in small different pieces, and they had never made an album like that before so it was a huge leap of faith. Cass jokes in a deadpan way “I absorbed a lot of the pressure.”
Skin recalled something David Bowie said along the lines of if you are comfortable making music you are not making good music. The first single “Artist Is An Artist” is experimental. They had a killer guitar riff for it, but Dave Sitek had unceremoniously taken it out which had hurt. They decided, if they were gonna work with Sitek they would have to trust him. Ace, guitarist, recalled that normally he would play something for an album around 100 times, but Sitek had accepted first takes where he was still finding his feet. Ace can hear the mistakes/tuning anomalies on the album, but they keep the work exciting and fresh. Skin described Sitek as a mad genius with gear everywhere. Normally she can hear the overall structure of a track in her head, but it was “kind of fun” to have no idea what was going on. They had given Sitek 20 strong demos, but he only liked four of them and they had to write six more songs after that for the record as a result. It was freeing mentally, even if she had wanted to fix some songs she had done the vocals for in two or three takes at the time. Actually, when she heard the album all together she was glad she hadn’t changed them. On the song ‘Shame’ about her family, the song is emotionally cathartic and she had been tearful in the first takes. If she had done many takes that genuine emotion would have been lost.
Mark the drummer recalled that Sitek had given him a Pulsar 23 drum machine and a you tube instructional video and had taken his high hat cymbals away. Sitek had even given him strange bits and pieces to bang to get different sounds.
They said that Cass the bassist is normally a one or two take guy anyway. He joked “It’s called professional”. However, the recording of the album had been a very emotional experience for Cass also, as he had been diagnosed with stage four cancer and was undergoing chemo during the making of the album. The doom in the room was quickly dispelled though when he announced that he is now cancer free and the room cheered. The experience had inspired him, however, to suggest the name of the album “The Painful Truth”. Apparently Skin’s daughter had woken up one day and said “Uncle Cass isn’t sick anymore” even though she had not been told he was ill, and the next telephone call Cass had received he was told he was cancer free. This is not the only ESP she has demonstrated apparently and always seems to know her mother is coming before she sees her.
Ace said that band’s have to feel they are making the best album of their career or they are doing something wrong. Each album they have made was the best album they could make at that particular time, something that represents them right then, “like a photo in time”.
Skin noted that the album had bits of R and B and more electronics, lots of freshness. “We could do ‘greatest hits’ forever, but that would be boring. The band are preparing to tour the record in the UK. Ace said there would be some Spinal Tap things going on. Because of the nature of the new album there will be some playback tapes which they are not ashamed of as it won’t be Milli Vanilli. They promised good stage production, great visuals, killer sound and a great PA, the whole package. The next single ‘Cheers’, an uncompromising look at the present predicament of humanity, is out today! The album is out May 23 on FLG Records (a division of Frontiers).
Dawn Osborne
