THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Insurrections. Global pandemics. The return of fascism. Climate crises. These are some serious times. But if you’ve got angst in your pants and you need to dance, or scream, or play guitar too loud too close to your amplifier, turn your ear to what Live Skull are doing. The New York noisers, who went on indefinite hiatus just before their kind of smart, gnarly, inventive din became lucrative, rose again in 2016. Their new album Party Zero, a thrilling work redefining what Live Skull means and what they stand for: no longer a group with a past, but one with a future.
Party Zero — their third since rising from the grave — is one of their finest. Big in sound and brash on dynamics, while sophistication remains an essential element. The fusion of noise and unexpected tunefulness delivering a heady, psychedelic effect. This remains protest music of uncanny subtlety and power, over a chiaroscuro modern post-punk. It’s the sound of Live Skull in the 21st century: Timeless, angry and beautiful.
Party Zero marks the arrival of guitarist Dave Hollinghurst, an electrifying presence pushing the band in a fresh, new direction. It’s a fiercely political album, in keeping with this politically fierce age.
“Desperation inspires us to make art and music,” says founding guitarist Mark C. “There’s a lot of birth and rebirth, looking for pathways of resistance and promoting the good and trying to fight against evil. I once said we had to start Live Skull because Reagan became president. And we had to restart Live Skull because Trump became president.”
Party Zero is big in sound, brash in dynamics. But the sophistication that was always the group’s calling card remains an essential element, dealing in the kind of pulverising pell-mell that characterised the ’80s New York sound, but also radiant with melody, the fusion of noise and unexpected tunefulness delivering a heady, psychedelic effect. “Getting in a room and being really noisy is just a natural response to what’s going on right now, because otherwise you’ll just go crazy. That gave Live Skull a reason to exist again,” says Mark.
This is timely music, essential, impassioned, angry and beautiful. It’s the sound of Live Skull in the 21st century, a desperate time that needs heroes like these. “We’ve been pushed to the edge – how do we claw our way back?” asks Mark. “That’s been a common theme in Live Skull since the beginning, and so it is now. We’re trying to provoke thought.”
