Wikipedia

Anarchytecture

Anarchytecture is the sixth studio album by English band Skunk Anansie. It was produced by Tom Dalgety and released in January 2016 through earMUSIC and Carosello Records.[1][2][3]

Anarchytecture
Studio album by
Skunk Anansie
Released15 January 2016 (2016-01-15)
StudioRAK Studios (London)
Length37:48
LabelearMUSIC, Carosello
ProducerTom Dalgety
Skunk Anansie chronology
Black Traffic
(2012) 		Anarchytecture
(2016) 		25Live@25
(2019)

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic65/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
Clash6/10[5]
Drowned in Sound7/10[6]
Gigwise          [2]
Hackney Gazette2/5[3]
London Evening Standard     [1]
Record Collector     [7]
TeamRock7/10[8]

Anarchytecture received mixed professional reviews.

The Clash magazine wrote that while it sounded "more sincere" than the previous album Black Traffic the songwriting was still "timid", citing the lead single "Love Someone Else" as "one of the dullest songs" ever written by Skunk Anansie. The reviewer did, however, remark specific tracks like "Death To The Lovers" that was reminiscent of early songs like "Hedonism", and "Without You" as typical Skunk Anansie songs.[5] Drowned in Sound wrote that the album skipped from genre to genre "in a fairly risk-free, but comfortably accomplished way". With Anarchytecture, Skunk Anansie knew how "to produce the best possible version of themselves".[6] The reviewer for Gigwise criticised that after 20 years, Skunk Anansie's original sounds had been turned to "more conventional, melody-driven rock". Nonetheless, he praised singer Skin's honest lyrics and found that the album was enjoyable for old and new fans alike.[2] The Record Collector magazine wrote that Anarchytecture continued the band's 1990s sound.[7] Also the reviewer for the Sonic Seducer found references to Skunk Anansie's musical past in songs like "We Are The Flames" and "Suckers!". He wrote also that "In The Backroom" was reminiscent of Gossip while the opulent "Death To The Lovers" could as well have been performed by Annie Lennox.[9]

Papers like the Hackney Gazette and the London Evening Standard were more critical. The former stated that the album was partly solid but also "forgettable" in other parts and that the band was struggling to match their early dynamic style.[3] A review by the latter newspaper found that the album's "horrible portmanteau title [was] reflected in the record’s jarring combination of big guitars and lurking synths."[1]

Track listing

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All songs written by Skunk Anansie, except "Love Someone Else" by Skin and Martin Buttrich.

No.TitleLength
1."Love Someone Else"3:31
2."Victim"4:16
3."Beauty Is Your Curse"3:41
4."Death to the Lovers"4:08
5."In the Back Room"3:39
6."Bullets"3:53
7."That Sinking Feeling"2:46
8."Without You"3:35
9."Suckers!"1:22
10."We Are the Flames"3:26
11."I'll Let You Down"3:30

Personnel

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Skunk Anansie
  • Skin - vocals, backing vocals
  • Martin "Ace" Kent - guitar
  • Richard "Cass" Lewis - bass guitar, keyboards
  • Mark Richardson - drums, percussion
with
  • Pete Davis - keyboards, programming

[10]

Charts

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Charts Peak position
UK Albums (OCC)[11] 85
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[12] 48
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[13] 25
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[14] 36
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[15] 37
French Albums (SNEP)[16] 105
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] 52
Italian Albums (FIMI)[18] 5
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[19] 8
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[20] 11

References

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  1. ^ a b c Andre Paine (15 January 2016). "Skunk Anansie – Anarchytecture, album review: 'jarring' | Music | Staying In | London Evening Standard". Standard.co.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  2. ^ a b c Lee Coleman (15 January 2016). "Review: Skunk Anansie - Anarchytecture". Gigwise. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  3. ^ a b c "Album review: Skunk Anansie - Anarchytecture - Music". Hackney Gazette. 10 January 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  4. ^ "Anarchytecture by Skunk Anansie". Metacritic. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  5. ^ a b Sam Walker-Smart (4 January 2016). "Skunk Anansie - Anarchytecture | Reviews". Clash. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  6. ^ a b Marc Burrows (3 February 2016). "Album Review: Skunk Anansie - Anarchytecture / Releases / Releases". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 7 February 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  7. ^ a b Joel McIver. "Anarchytecture". Record Collector. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  8. ^ "Skunk Anansie: Anarchytecture". TeamRock. 31 December 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2016. (subscription required)
  9. ^ Christoph Kutzer (2016). "Skunk Anansie – Anarchitecture". Sonic Seducer (in German). No. 2. p. 81.
  10. ^ "Skunk Anansie - Anarchytecture". Discogs.
  11. ^ "Skunk Anansie | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  12. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Skunk Anansie – Anarchytecture" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  13. ^ "Ultratop.be – Skunk Anansie – Anarchytecture" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  14. ^ "Ultratop.be – Skunk Anansie – Anarchytecture" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  15. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Skunk Anansie – Anarchytecture" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  16. ^ "Lescharts.com – Skunk Anansie – Anarchytecture". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  17. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Skunk Anansie – Anarchytecture" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  18. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Skunk Anansie – Anarchytecture". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  19. ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  20. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Skunk Anansie – Anarchytecture". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
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