Skunk Anansie have shared their new fan favourite single ‘Animal’ – check it out below.
- READ MORE: Skunk Anansie talk legacy and “ushering in a new generation of Black music”
Taken from their upcoming album ‘The Painful Truth‘, the song has already had its live outing on their recent UK and European tour, with its anthemic chorus already proving a hit. “So delighted for this track to finally be released,” said lead singer Skin of the synth-driven track. “It was a fan fave during the tour and went down a storm!”
The new record marks the seventh studio effort from the British rock group, and their first in nine years. It is set to arrive on May 23 via FLG, and will also contain the recently shared single ‘An Artist Is An Artist’.
In a new description of the record, the new material is described as “mesmerising, provocative, powerful and emotional” – one that shows the band at the height of their powers and reflecting on their long career.
You can pre-order ‘The Painful Truth’ here, and check out ‘Animal’ below.
Back in 2022, the band spoke to NME about their lengthy career and “ushering in a new generation of Black music” during an appearance on the red carpet of the MOBO Awards.
The four-piece – made up of Skin, bassist Cass Lewis, guitarist Ace, and drummer Matt Richardson – discussed their fellow nominees Big Joanie, Kid Bookie, Nova Twins, Loathe, and Bob Vylan, with Skin saying that “at first, you want to get everyone, and we feel like we’re ushering in a new generation of Black music at the MOBOs, and then we’re going to leave it to the kids.”
Asked if the Best Alternative Music Act nomination felt like proof of the rock icons’ enduring relevance, Skin replied: “That’s the aim, isn’t it? The aim is to have a long-term career. I think now people have careers that are so short: music should be a long-term career”.
The ‘Hedonism’ artist went on to address this alongside news of the new LP recently, saying: “I don’t care that we were big in the ’90s. Creatively, it’s irrelevant because in my rock bible the first commandment states, “If thy rest on them laurels thy shall wither up and die artistically, musically, mentally. And then financially.’”
Skin also added that the record came at a crossroads for the members – being born out of a time when they were close to claiming it a day, and also comes on the heels of bassist Cass recently opening up about a stage 4 cancer diagnosis.
“If we didn’t do something fresh and forward-thinking, we couldn’t really be a band anymore. We’d just be doing Skunk karaoke,” the singer said. “We have made some good records in our time but it’s been a long time since we have made a great album. And that is the painful truth. Understanding that, led us to making what I genuinely think is our greatest record yet.”
Meanwhile, in a recent announcement, Skunk Anansie celebrated the news of their upcoming record by sharing details of a one-off headline show in Chipping Sodbury. This will be taking place on the day of the record’s release (May 23), and tickets are available here.
The show follows the aforementioned run of headline dates across the UK and Europe, as well as two dates supporting The Smashing Pumpkins in August. Visit here for all available tickets.
