Skimmer - All Fired Up CD

Bloated Kat / Waterslide / Council Pop (2022)

It's possible that I'm going to write a few things that might sound vaguely like complaints, but I want to assure you that I mean them as compliments.  This is a great album and the only thing that I could say that might be a complaint is that I wish it had come out on vinyl in addition to CD.  But as far as the music goes, this is just what I want from a Skimmer album.

Skimmer has been around for quite a long time.  Formed from the ashes of The Sect, they were one of the corner stone bands of UK melodic punk that really captured my attention in the mid 90s.  Along with Broccoli, Chopper, Hooton 3 Car, Crocodile God and Travis Cut, Skimmer was a band whose singles I desperately sought out in a (mostly) pre internet era.  I even had to go to England eventually to round out my collections of most of these bands.

Skimmer was always the fast, melodic buzzsaw pop band.  At times I felt they were vocally similar to Mega City Four, but almost always playing twice as fast with the guitar distortion permanently locked as high as it would go.  In the intervening nearly 30 years, Skimmer reliably kept putting out records and their sound never really changed that much.  That's the thing that I worry could be construed as a criticism.  But I can't tell you how great it feels that as the years go barreling by, I can still get a new Skimmer release and I'm immediately transported back to 1997.

This isn't one of those 'the songs all sound the same' deals, but they certainly all have an interconnected feeling.  Flat out, they're just one of the best and most consistent bands to come out of my favorite scene in the history of the earth.  While many of their peers packed it in, Skimmer persevered and the fact that they are still releasing killed melodic pop punk in 2022 is nothing short of a miracle.

Skimmer - All Fired Up:

Bloated Kat (US)
https://bloatedkatrecords.bandcamp.com/album/all-fired-up

Waterslide (Japan)
https://watersliderecords.bandcamp.com/album/all-fired-up

Council Pop (UK)
https://council-poprecords.bandcamp.com/album/skimmer-all-fired-up-with-exclusive-badge

Her Spectacles / Skimmer / Piece of Bread - All The Time In The World - 3 Way Split CD

Waterslide (2009)

This CD is nearly ten years old now and that really blows my mind.  Another gem that I managed to overlook for far too long, this three way split compiles one band from the UK (Skimmer) with two from Japan (Her Spectacles and Piece of Bread).  All three bands are great and every song that each contributes is among their best.

Starting with Her Spectacles, they dish out three songs of melodic punk rock in the vein of of some of my very favorite bands like Three Minute Movie.  In particular, the choppy guitar riffs of "Deception" really make the song stand out as one of my favorites that I've heard from these guys.  As I had mentioned last time I reviewed something by them, there doesn't seem to be much that was released, but I definitely need to track down everything that was.

Next up we have three songs from Skimmer.  The thing I love about Skimmer is they're just so damn consistent.  You could play a Skimmer song from 1993 and one from 2020 and you're never going to confuse them with any other band.  Their version of sugar fueled Mega City Four style UK punk rock is among my very favorite sounds in the world and the fact that they are still churning out songs like this all these years later just makes me smile.

Lastly we have Peace of Bread, a band I have become somewhat obsessed with over the last year or so.  They combine punchy and melodic guitar riffs with complimentary boy/girl vocals in a way I haven't seen since the glory days of Cigaretteman.  Ever single song I have heard by them is an absolute smash hit and "Signal of the Start" may be the best one I've heard so far.  They are another band that I'm desperately trying to find as many records by as possible, so if you see any, let me know.

Her Spectacles / Skimmer / Piece of Bread - All The Time In The World - 3 Way Split:

https://watersliderecords.bandcamp.com/album/all-of-the-time-in-the-world-3-way-split

Skimmer / The Hum Hums - Split CD

Fixing A Hole (2016)

This split CD pairs up one of my long time favorite UK punk rockers, Skimmer, with one of my more recent favorites from Japan, The Hum Hums.  It's a perfect match as both bands are attacking the same types of pop sounds, but they're approaching it from two different directions.

Skimmer has been kicking around since the 90's and all of these years later they are still churning our their brand of ragged pop punk.  The tunes are rough and powerful and the band has always been able to capture a real palpable energy with their fast buzzsaw guitars and high pitched vocals.  All three songs on their portion of the split are short, fast and insanely catchy.  It's comforting that all of these years later, you can still count on Skimmer to deliver the goods.

The Hum Hums take a different take.  Their sound is more of a mix of mid 90's Lookout records meets the Beach Boys.  It's a bit more melodic than Skimmer and boy oh boy can these guys crank out some incredible vocal harmonies.  The guitars are loud and crunchy and everything the band does is tight and precise, forgoing the rough around the edges approach and instead relying on their ability to write absolutely perfect pop tunes.

While they each have their own take on punk rock, both Skimmer and The Hum Hums are incredible.  They each take punk rock and cram in pop hooks and killer songwriting.  The only thing I wish was that this split EP was even longer, three songs by each band just isn't enough.

The Hum Hums - Split CD:

https://thehumhums.bandcamp.com/album/skimmer-the-hum-hums

I couldn't find the Skimmer songs anywhere online.

Skimmer - Baby Dinosaur CD

Waterslide / Heroic Failure (2015)

When you talk about glory days or musical scenes that were influential to me, there are few that have been as impactful as the mid-late 90's punk rock scene in the UK.  Based around Crackle records, this first batch of Leatherface and Snuff influenced bands blew my mind when I was younger.  This crew of bands like Broccoli, Chopper, Hooton 3 Car, Crocodile God, Travis Cut and Skimmer jumped out at me like few bands have before or since.  That Skimmer is still putting out records all these years later is a wonderful thing to me.

This was another album picked up while in Japan.  I have to admit that I haven't kept up on Skimmer quite as much as I once did.  They fell off my radar a bit and I didn't realize this album had come out.  I'm happy to report Skimmer is as great as they've always been and their new songs are every bit as good as the ones they put out in those aforementioned glory days.

It's tough for me to describe Skimmer by comparing them to other bands as they are often the band I would compare others too.  I suppose there's certainly a slice of Mega City Four and Senseless Things buried in there as Skimmer has a way with melody very reminiscent of those bands, but Skimmer has a full bore fuzzed our guitar attack guiding them through their songs.  They're soul mates with Japanese bands like Navel, but still have elements that are wholly unique to them.  Chances are if you've listened to Skimmer in the past and enjoyed them, this record will be right up your alley.  If you've never heard them before, this is album is as good an album as any to start with.  Oh, their singles compilations Compitoenail should be next on your list.

Skimmer - "October Flowers":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcW0qpD_QVg

Skimmer - "She's Gone Again":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw7sNdOIuQs