We know you all have been waiting for this one, so we are beyond pleased to announce that The Skints’ highly-anticipated fourth album, SWIMMING LESSONS, will be released on May 10, 2019, but you can pre-order it now! Drawing on influences as sprawling asย Bad Brains, Popcaan, No Doubt, Alton Ellis, Wileyย andย Weezer,ย Swimming Lessonsย deals with crushing heartbreak, the impending doom of Brexit, surviving as an independent musician and navigating the weird world of 2019 – all of these are proverbial โswimming lessonsโ life throws at us. Click here to pre-order,ย Swimming Lessons.
Lyrically their darkest and most introspective release to date,ย Swimming Lessonsย takes its inspiration from reggae, soul, dub, punk, ragga and rap. The Skints have a knack for fusing different genres of music that strike an accessible chord with a political, personal and philosophical message. From 8 Bit-influenced dancehall to sound system shaking dub, melodic grunge to harmony-laden soul, Swimming Lessons boasts collaborations with three of Jamaicaโs brightest roots stars of today.
โIn the four years since our last album,ย FM, the band has toured globally non-stop. The creative hunger in us has been building up so much, because as an independent operation, we simply havenโt had the luxury of spending money on studio time whilst playing to sustain ourselvesโ,ย says guitarist and vocalistย Josh Waters Rudge.
New singleย “Learning to Swim“ย is a sentimental blend of lovers rock, pop and hardcore punk as The Skints confront personal tragedy while the rub-a-dub heavyย “Restless“, questions the broken promises and perpetual lies of those governing over us today and featuresย Grammy-nominated Jamaican reggae starย Protojeย on vocal duties who flows on the track in a style only he can deliver.
Elsewhere, The Skints delve into pop-punk territory with “What Did I Learn Today“ย and “The Island“, showcasing the bandโs ability to effortlessly jump from one genre to the next, before the collaborations continue with freestylerย Runkusย on the carnival-friendly “Armageddon“ย andย Jesse Royalย on the soulful “Love is the Devil.”
โAs well as enlisting some of the absolute best of Jamaican vocal talent on the features, we’re really trying to push all ends of the spectrum of what The Skints music is and can be. Our whole back catalog is diverse in mood and emotion, song to song, and onย Swimming Lessons,ย weโve tried to take things a step furtherโ,ย adds keyboardist/vocalistย Marcia Richards.
