{"id":78686,"date":"2019-05-09T15:00:30","date_gmt":"2019-05-09T14:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/?p=78686"},"modified":"2023-04-07T14:20:07","modified_gmt":"2023-04-07T13:20:07","slug":"review-the-skints-swimming-lessons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-the-skints-swimming-lessons\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: The Skints &#8211; Swimming Lessons"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-78687 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/6D25B53D-DE34-412C-94D3-58A98144A211-300x300.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" title=\"\">For as often as it\u2019s felt like <b>The Skints<\/b> deserve to be included in the bigger British rock conversation (really ever since the opened for You Me At Six in 2013), they\u2019ve never really ended up there. It\u2019s not that hard to see why either; ska and reggae have frequently been difficult styles for many to swallow, something which has resulted in their genre-spanning approach never having the accessible legs that many would want.<\/p>\n<p>That doesn\u2019t look to change either, because <i>\u2019Swimming Lessons\u2019<\/i> is the same wide-reaching fusion of sounds that\u2019s no more streamlined, but continues to mark out <b>The Skints<\/b> as such a vibrant, colourful prospect. It\u2019d be easy enough to file them as another Specials-worshipping ska band with tracks like <i>\u2019Restless\u2019<\/i>, but with the popping electro-reggae of <i>\u2019Gets On Top\u2019<\/i> and even the pop-punk flourishes on <i>\u2019Learning To Swim\u2019<\/i> and <i>\u2019What Did I Learn Today\u2019<\/i>, the melting pot becomes a lot wider, much to the band\u2019s benefit. There\u2019s a welcome diversity here, and it makes <i>\u2019Swimming Lessons\u2019<\/i> feel far more fleshed-out overall.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"The Skints - Learning To Swim (Official Video)\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qYkhl1Bogwk?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1&#038;origin=https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s not to say it\u2019s all perfect; the transitions between punk and watery ska on <i>\u2019Learning To Swim\u2019<\/i> can feel a bit stilted, and the acoustic snoozer <i>\u2019Donkey Brain\u2019<\/i> just generally feels like a misstep overall, feeling too disjointed. Then again, for an album thematically drowning in the mire of Brexit, such turbulence at least makes sense, and the pick-and-choose aspect of <b>The Skints<\/b> reinforces the diversity and multiculturalism within them as a band. It\u2019s easy to trace where those cultural touchstones lie, and it does make <i>\u2019Swimming Lessons\u2019<\/i> a satisfying listen overall.<\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s really where <b>The Skints<\/b>\u2019 appeal lies the most. They\u2019ve become incredibly good at what they do, and <i>\u2019Swimming Lessons\u2019<\/i> is no exception, especially given the breadth of ground they cover and just how well they can pull it off. It still won\u2019t be for everyone, but there\u2019s a lot to like here regardless.<\/p>\n<p>3.5\/5<\/p>\n<p><i>&#8216;Swimming Lessons&#8217;<\/i> by <b>The Skints<\/b> is released on 10th May on <b>Easy Star \/ Mr Bongo<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p><b>The Skints<\/b> links: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theskints.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Website<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/theskints\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/theskints\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/the-skints.bandcamp.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bandcamp<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Words by Luke Nuttall (<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nuttall_luke\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@nuttall_luke<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;There\u2019s a welcome diversity here, and it makes \u2019Swimming Lessons\u2019 feel far more fleshed-out overall&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":78687,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[5879,16943,15029,16944,16942,2871],"class_list":["post-78686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-album-reviews","tag-album-reviews","tag-easy-star","tag-luke-nuttall","tag-mr-bongo","tag-swimming-lessons","tag-the-skints"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - 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