Skunk Anansie
Wonderlustre
V2 Records Benelux

After a decade of absence, Skunk Anansie is back with their long-awaited, fourth studio album, Wonderlustre.

Although Skunk’s popularity developed mainly in the UK, the band has maintained a loyal fan base over the years through their non-merciful mixture of hard rock and pop ballads, portrayed within political, societal and heartbreak-driven jams like “Selling Jesus,” “Charity,” “Weak,” and the mesmerizing “Secretly.”

All original members are back on this album, packing a full punch of tight ballads and personal rock anthems which, although more mature and refined, certainly grow on you.The strongest track on the album is the opener, “God Loves Only You,” proving that the band doesn’t need to waste any time showing listeners what this album is about. “My Ugly Boy” portrays just how powerful Skin is as a front woman. “It Doesn’t Matter” is a funk, guitar-driven track that’s refreshingly dance-worthy, although surprisingly much different than most other songs on the album.

My only minor disappointment with this album is that I would have preferred to hear more of Ace’s gut-wrenching riffs.  Although, to be fair, Skin’s vocals are still as commanding and emotional as ever.

Overall, Wonderlustre seems to lack a certain luster, perhaps because this is a more personal record, and the lyrical content is missing that ferocious yet masochistic quality we’ve come to love about their previous records.  Still, this album remains confidently stimulating and defeats a majority of first, second and third time releases of any band in the past few years.