The Skull Defekts, A Review (2018)

The Skull Defekts, A Review (2018)

By: Erreh Svaia
Rock N Roll Animal

The legendary Swedish experimental art rock band The Skull Defekts have just announced that this 2018 self titled record will be their last ever, and they seem to be going with a bang, as this self titled swan song shows the band tighter and wilder than ever, the mind blowing title of opener A Brief History of Rhythm, Dub, Life and Death is simply as amazing as the song itself, a powerful endless tribal beat flanked by generous doses of pure abrasive noise, a truly spiritual machine, if such a thing could be conceived or imagined, Clean Mind again starts with a punishing beat and an almighty bass work, suddenly jagged edge riffs appear in and out, the band displaying an astonishing skill at creating enormous amounts of tension and a fascinating aura of danger, with guitar work sometimes reminding us of Sonic Youth at its noisy best.

The Dance is a short piece with a great debt to post punk, direct and to the point, while Slow Storm goes back to red hot drumming and out of this world guitars, with dreamy or perhaps nightmarish vocals to compliment an already eerie atmosphere, that seems to come out of a David Lynch surreal film, with a powerful and shocking finale, while the enormous presence of Mariam Wallentine on Powdered Faces makes the piece one of the catchiest and most gratifying moment of the record, adding a big dose of intensity to the mix.

It's impossible to deny the long lasting influence of Sonic Youth on the Scandinavian noise rock scene, All Thoughts Thought is the most clear evidence, with its motorik extremely mechanical rhythm nature, it's Glenn Branca like minimalistic abrasive guitars, and the eternal improvising nature of the piece, although the band admits that this is their most composed less improvised effort to date, with closing track aptly titled The Beauty of Creation and Destruction making a effect final chapter for a unique band that made quite an event with each one of their releases, if this is the grand finale on The Skull Defekts, it is definitely their best effort to date, the best record in their career and a high caliber farewell, a band going away in such an amazing condition is as exciting as sad, an Scandinavian institution that will be really missed.