Album Review : Skrat – Bring out the Big Guns

About a week ago, I got my hands on the second outing of Chennai-based rock outfit ‘Skrat’, and the one word that summarizes the album is ‘addictive’. From the first song right to the last, Skrat seems to have hit all the right notes and come out with an up-beat energetic album – something perfect to get someone into the groove in the morning.

Thank god for digital media, because if I had a tape (like the ‘good old days’), I’m pretty sure I would have worn out the tape. I've had the album on loop for days now and there are no signs of it going away any time soon. The last time I remember an album blowing my mind was John Mayer’s ‘Continuum’. Elite company in my collection indeed.

The drumming and bass are absolutely tight throughout the album which makes even the non-rock listeners head bob through all the songs. Their biggest credit would come from my mum who walked into the room and sat down to listen for a bit. The lyrics are easy to remember and linger with you long after you’ve done listening to the album.

Some of the songs that stand out are ‘Samurai Badass’, ‘Tin Can Man’ and ‘Smoke a Cigar’. I have taken an odd liking to ‘The Spare Blues’. It’s a simple song that starts with a fabulous line – ‘Love’s just like snooker, so colourful, but all balls’ and you can’t help not laugh your head off at the line. I also need to compliment Shakthishree Gopalan’s vocals on the track ‘In the Rain’ which were perfect and just took the song to a different level.

‘Bring out the Big Guns’ is definitely the best 100 bucks I spent on buying music online. You can buy their music from here on OkListen and listen to the entire album here on Soundcloud.

 I also caught the band when they played at Counter Culture in Bangalore. And they were a superb stage act. Clearly, here are 3 guys who’re not only musicians but are great friends and are very comfortable with each other on stage.  

There were places where the guitar would go out of sync, but the drums and bass were able to adjust immediately and it was barely noticeable. Barring the guitarist answering his phone on two occasions, which I wasn't sure as to whether it was a stage gimmick or just plain annoying, it was a tight stage act which had the crowd up on their feet from the word 'go'.

The band sounds exactly like how they do on the album. I will be following this band keenly. Right now, I'm in total love with the album to a point,  I might need to go to couples therapy if we are to amicably break-up and I start seeing other albums too. I also bought the latest LP from Ska Vengers,  but have not been able to listen to it because all I seem to be doing is listening to Skrat through all my waking hours.