Missed Connection - Skegss Surf Rock Their Way Into Aussie Hearts

4.6 out of 5

I had to come up with a new type of album review blog for this one, because it flew under my radar as it was launched in March of this year, but I wanted to make sure that the new Skegss album Rehearsal was reviewed on our site, because the Aussie surf-rock band is really, really good.

This album is their second studio album, but the rockers from Byron Bay, New South Wales have put out a decent amount of EPs over the last 6 years and have moved their way to a pretty high caliber of recognition in the Australian rock scene.

Rehearsal is a continuation of what the band is good at - making no frills rock music that sounds good no matter when you listen to it.

Now, when I say “no frills” I don’t mean that they don’t have talent or don’t put in some cool riffs and beats. I just mean that it’s not overproduced, layered with samples or backing vocals, and there’s no filters to make things sound better. It already sounds really damn good as it is.

Some people might compare this band to American groups that try to replicate the same vibe like Dirty Heads or 311, but to me those bands try too hard to replicate a reggae band that happens to also play surf rock.

For me, Skegss is a lot more like Death By Unga Bunga or even a bit similar to Arctic Monkeys in their early days. They appear to be a band having a lot of fun making music.

This album is no different. Right from the start with the song “Down to Ride” you get the sense that this band is going to make a fun album to listen to especially if you are on a road trip or hanging out with friends.

“Running from Nothing”, “Picturesque Moment”, and “Bush TV” are excellent songs from the album as well.

It’s actually pretty hard to pick a favorite track from the album, because they all have their own special moments on the album. “Valhalla” has an opening rock riff on guitar that is pretty awesome as a starter. It gets you pumped for that song right away.

“Under the Thunder” is a pretty sweet track as well. It’s got a good rebellious spirit about it that will have you bobbing your head and singing along by the end of the song.

I could basically say good things about every song on the album (and I would), but in order to leave the music to speak for itself, I will just say, go listen to this album and all their other albums (EPs and their first studio album) and then decide for yourself if you are a fan or not.

The Australian rock scene is absolutely on the verge of eclipsing the American scene at this point as so many good bands are coming out of the “outback” compared to all the electronic music that the U.S. keeps pushing.