{"id":9470,"date":"2015-06-08T14:20:34","date_gmt":"2015-06-08T14:20:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-matt-skiba-and-the-sekrets-kuts\/"},"modified":"2018-03-21T22:03:18","modified_gmt":"2018-03-21T22:03:18","slug":"album-review-matt-skiba-and-the-sekrets-kuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-matt-skiba-and-the-sekrets-kuts\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Matt Skiba and The Sekrets – Kuts"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"Back when Matt Skiba introduced his new solo endeavour, Matt Skiba and The Sekrets<\/b>, two years ago with ‘Babylon’<\/i>, I thought it was a worthy companion to the Alkaline Trio catalogue. It didn’t emulate his full-time job too much nor did it stray too far from it. When I reviewed it upon its release, I was a big fan of it. I even spent what little money I had on a vinyl copy of it. However in hindsight my review shouldn’t have been as favourable as it was. Two years on from ‘Babylon’ and I can’t remember a thing about. I don’t even have the vinyl anymore (because of what little money I have). Basically ‘Babylon’<\/i> lacked staying power. <\/figure>\n

With The Sekrets<\/b>’ second effort, \u2018Kuts\u2019<\/i>, Skiba sees the project heading into a more 80s synth heavy direction yet this isn\u2019t obvious at first as ‘Lonely and Kold\u2019<\/i> and \u2018She Wolf\u2019<\/i> with spiky guitars dominating alongside Skiba\u2019s warming but morose vocal delivery. Whilst lead single \u2018Krazy\u2019<\/i> wouldn\u2019t sound out of place as an Alkaline Trio b-side. <\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

However it is on tracks like \u2018She Said\u2019<\/i> and ‘I Just Killed to Say I Love You\u2019<\/i> where The Sekrets<\/b> come into their (his) own. The former is a light yet upbeat number with a subtle groove and is carried by post-punk-esque energy. The latter is reminiscent of The Cure and David Bowie with an oozing synth giving way to a promising chorus. Later on, \u2018Krashing\u2019<\/i> has the same slick synth-heavy sound but isn\u2019t as effective.<\/p>\n

Lyrically Skiba once again proves his worth as a songwriter and uses his personal troubles (like his recent divorce) to his advantage. ‘Way Bakk When\u2019<\/i> offers him a chance to reflect despite it being somewhat of a musically structured mess.<\/p>\n

My issue with \u2018Kuts\u2019<\/i> is that far to often than not it comes off as weak and light. Although Skiba has shown a willingness to explore and experiment, later songs like ‘Never Believe\u2019<\/i> struggle to leave a lasting impression. Sure his sad, reflective lyrics do stir up some emotion but it\u2019s not enough to keep you interested. The record is rounded off with \u2018Vienna’<\/i> with Skiba unplugged with just a guitar and an accompanying piano allowing him to produce a soft, raw ballad to finish \u2018Kuts\u2019<\/i> off. <\/p>\n

Although 32 minutes isn\u2019t out of the ordinary for a length of an album these days, you\u2019re still left thinking Skiba had more to offer on \u2018Kuts\u2019<\/i>. His exploration in to other sounds and styles is admirable yet isn\u2019t consistent enough to leave a lasting impression. Nevertheless Skiba produces enough hooks for the record to appeal to old and new fans alike. On paper, \u2018Kuts\u2019<\/i> sounds promising with its musical progression and deeply personal lyrical approach yet the final results are mixed. I wanted to like \u2018Kuts\u2019<\/i>, it had a lot to offer but ultimately I\u2019m left unsatisfied with what Skiba has produced. However I\u2019m still interested to see how the project evolves in the coming years.<\/p>\n

3\/5<\/p>\n

‘Kuts’<\/i> by Matt Skiba and The Sekrets<\/b> is out now on Superball Music<\/b>.<\/p>\n

Matt Skiba and The Sekrets<\/b> links: Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n

Words by Sean Reid (@SeanReid86<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Back when Matt Skiba introduced his new solo endeavour, Matt Skiba and The Sekrets, two years ago with ‘Babylon’, I thought it was a worthy companion to the Alkaline Trio catalogue. It didn’t emulate his full-time job too much nor did it stray too far from it. When I reviewed it upon its release, I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14281,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[5566,5565,12398,1705],"class_list":["post-9470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-album-reviews","tag-kuts","tag-matt-skiba-and-the-sekrets","tag-sean-reid","tag-superball-music"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAlbum Review: Matt Skiba and The Sekrets - Kuts - Already Heard Staging<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Back when Matt Skiba introduced his new solo endeavour, Matt Skiba and The Sekrets, two years ago with ‘Babylon’, I thought it was a worthy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Album Review: Matt Skiba and The Sekrets - 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