Fans at the 9:30 club on March 24 got a dose of heavy-handed, old-school rock ‘n’ roll when Band of Skulls graced the stage for their sold-out show. The English rockers have been on the tour circuit supporting their sophomore album, “Sweet Sour.”
Show openers We Are Augustines amped the crowd up with their upbeat rock. Though the three-piece group is from New York, their sound had a Southern, whiskey-battered feel to it.
Lead singer Billy McCarthy sang with a gritty, yet beautiful voice, a vocal hybrid between Caleb Followill and Marcus Mumford. Songs like “Book of James,” “Strange Days” and the heartfelt ballad “Philadelphia (City of Brotherly Love)” displayed the potential anthemic growing power We Are Augustines has.
Band of Skulls took to the stage soon after and jumped right into the slow-burning opener, “Sweet Sour.” The band has been delivering psychedelically-soaked blues rock for the past couple of years, slowly building buzz by touring, playing at festivals and having their songs featured on numerous TV shows and commercials.
And the buzz is well deserved. Each song is razor-sharp and well-crafted, with a staggering number of guitar solos.
The first few tracks like “Pattern,” “Fires” and “Bruises” focused on warming up the crowd, rather than bowling them over with the numerous reverb-drenched and whammy bar heavy guitar bits that were later to come.
However, the less than face-melting pace didn’t mean there was a sacrifice on behalf of talent.
Lead guitarist Russell Marsden deftly ran his fingers up and down his electric guitar’s neck, creating a bevy of rippling electric riffs. Though he and bassist Emma Richardson moved slowly on the stage and preferred to focus on their instruments rather than the audience, their music washed hypnotically over the club.
One of the standout tracks of the night was “Blood,” a track from their first album.
“Blood” had a creeping, curling riff pulled straight out of a Black Sabbath/Cream dream world. Richardson slapped her bass with cool disinterest and sang lyrics like “I know you’re bleeding baby / But you’re not bleeding blood,” with a girlish coo.
What really sold her aloof performance even more was her stone cold mod fox appearance, with her skinny jean-bedecked legs and thick black hair, a look lifted right out of the Alison Mosshart handbook for female rockers.
Delivering the most fervent energy of the night was drummer Matt Hayward, who drummed with a crazed look in his eyes, like a young and reckless Ginger Baker.
He got to truly exemplify his wickedly fast drumming abilities on the new track, “You Aren’t Pretty, But You’ve Got it Goin’ On.” This jostling and mind-numbingly fast song was an instant crowd pleaser with its monstrously quick and layered riff that ebbed and flowed with delirious ease. Marsden’s skills as a guitarist really shined on this track, as he improvised guitar solos and sang esoteric lyrics like “Your head swims in electric blues / If all fails, you can’t lose” in his drawling, high-pitched croon.
Band of Skulls wisely chose to end the show on two fan favorites, “In the Light of the Morning” and “Death by Diamonds and Pearls.” The previously docile and entranced crowd was overcome by hearing the familiar opening lyrics and sang every word with raucously cheerful relish.
But there was no way they were going to end the show without an encore. The trio came back for two more hard-hitting tracks, the slinky, big-chorused number “The Devil Takes Care of His Own” and “Impossible.”
Band of Skulls take rock ‘n’ roll seriously and are focused on bringing it to the forefront of the music scene, one ecstatically sharp guitar solo at a time.
