LONEDON EP
Straight off the back of a summer filled with festival slots including Reading & Leeds Festivals, The Skinner Brothers have wasted no time in following up their earlier release in 2022 of the album Soul Boy II with their brand new EP ‘Lonedon‘.
Released on Friday 23rd September, the four track EP is a very personal effort from front man Zac Skinner detailing and spotlighting his own life story of the isolating side effects of having made the move to London as teenager with big dreams of making it in the music industry. Hence the clever play on words title of Lone-don.
While the huge tunes are undoubtedly still there, this EP offers us a glimpse of another side to this incredible band. Its got a more overall brooding undertone with a somewhat sombre element at play. Its a definite and definitive move from their more usual energy fuelled offerings, but it also showcases that The Skinner Brothers are certainly no ‘One Trick Pony’ band and we’re certainly all for that.
We love to see and watch bands evolve and grow over time and the ‘Lonedon’ EP does not disappoint on any level.
Title track ‘Lonedon’ opens up the EP with a familiar swagger yet the lyrics portray a new element of vulnerability from Zac with lyrics like ‘Ghost town on a busy street’ where ‘Lips move but the mouth don’t speak’.
The track starts with a clean and simple with the track lifting when Zac’s now trade mark vocals begin. The lyrics build and Zac paints a picture of the struggles of his early life in London. The Soulful chorus comes in and rises to a stomping beat, it holds another simple catchy Guitar riff which is more a dirty/fuzzy sound. ‘Lonedon’ is a cracker with a whiff of Stereophonics that hangs in the air, but it does not steal anything away from the song.
With the 2nd track ‘Mellow’ you’d be forgiven for thinking you’ve been transported back to the nineties, with its catchy guitar hooks and paired back drums that allow Zac to hold centre court with his captivating vocal melodies.
The 3rd track ‘Loaded Gun’ is an energy filled rhythmic anthem with its crashing cymbals and melodic guitars punching their way-through the song like a train only pausing at the station to let the edgy confidence of Zac’s vocals come on board before hurtling back down the track. The song keeps at a high tempo throughout and will have you on your toes until the full journey has finished.
In the 4th and final track – ‘Make It Count’ The Skinner Brothers take another unexpected change of direction from what we are used to, and it’s for the better. The sound of a deep snare and melancholy whistling would not go amiss on a Foals Record, however it’s the addition of Zac’s vocals that make this unmistakably The Skinner Brothers . The guarded lyrics show a humble resilience that let you know that you can’t keep this kid down!
Front man Zac Skinner himself has said of the EP:
“I wanted the EP to have a mixtape kind of feel. It’s four different songs I feel that captures the essence of the band at this point”.
The ‘Lonedon’ EP has been released to coincide with The Skinner Brothers tour in early October. You can purchase tickets for the tour here.
Listen to the LONEDON EP here
UPCOMING TOUR DATES
OCTOBER
1st – Manchester, Neighbourhood Festival
2nd – Blackpool, Bootleg Social
4th – Southampton, Joiners
5th – Southend, Chinnery’s
6th – London, O2 Academy Islington
8th – Cambridge, Mash
9th – Guildford, The Boiler Room
10th – Oxford, Bullingdon Arms
12th – Edinburgh. The Caves
14th – Stockton, KU
15th – Live At Leeds
FOLLOW THE SKINNER BROTHERS
Words by Lisa Bridgewater
The songbird 