Following the critically acclaimed 2013 debut album, Manhattan, comes the Skaters’ aptly titled 5-track EP, Rock And Roll Bye Bye.
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After performing at SXSW and signing with the Warner Bros in the first few years of the band’s existence, it has been quite a journey for New York-via-Hull (East Yorkshire)-based quartet.
The EP opens with the album titled track – a rapturous cowbell wielding symphony, in which lead singer, Michael Ian Cummings, warbles “left the old van/by the roadside/played the same dive/for the fourth time/and now my friends are old/and their jealous ‘cause/we never had to grow/got stuck with rock and roll.”
Flip Flip Flip carries chiming guitar hooks and a strong melody, Cummings plays the role of a crooner, drawing on influences from Arctic Monkey’s, Arabella. Contrarily, 1# Record is lucid and almost Amazonian, in comparison – with catcalls of “number one record!” by the band.
The Loner is a fast, foot-stomping anthem with shades of the Strokes and masterful guitar work, reminiscent of early Franz Ferdinand records “one night turns to three/I’m not sure where I’m meant to be” – jeers of “isolation!” crow heavy on the ear.
5 Tourist Death March/Malibu Holiday closes the EP, Cummings sings “this is not yours to take/this is not mine to keep” with decaying vocals, there are lapses of techno influence the track throughout before rapturous guitar drop closes the record just as it opened – loud, exciting and youthful, which if anything, is exactly what Skaters are about.
