Skint and Demoralised - The Bit Between the Teeth

  by Gillian Fish

published: 9 / 4 / 2013

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Review

Despite only being 24 years old Wakefield’s Matt Abbott (AKA Skint & Demoralised) has plenty of experience in the industry behind him. Starting out as a performance poet it was from this that led to the producer MiNI dOG contacting him via Myspace in 2006 and pitching the idea that Abbott should turn his hand to music. Now onto their third album 'The Bit Between the Teeth' Skint & Demoralised have produced a mixture of spoken word and a more traditional singing approach. Opening track ‘Amores Perros’ starts with Abbott talking about a quote by former Leeds United player and manager Billy Bremner - you could be forgiven for thinking this song is about nothing more than Abbott’s love of football. There, however, is far more to ‘Amores Perros’. It is about betrayal and love, and tells an open and honest tale throughout its epic eight minute duration. Although not forgetting his poetry recital routes, there are several songs on the album that also allow Abbott to show that he is just as capable of singing as he is of spoken word. Second track ‘Plessey Road’ follows the raw emotion of the opener with a slightly more up-tempo/cheery sound. Comparisons can be made to the Streets and the Smiths with a hint of Jamie T. There are also elements of the Arctic Monkeys, and in fact ‘Lucifer’s Cardigan’, with its jangly guitars and up-tempo lyrics, is reminiscent of the Sheffield band’s first album. Personally ‘Chippenham Travelodge’ is a particular standout as it has quite a retro rock and roll sound. You really feel that Skint & Demoralised have built up a story book of life through Abbott’s eyes with this album. ‘When Saturday Comes’ is quite openly a song about the enjoyment of football. In fact it has already become a Sky Sports favourite and, although not a particularly outstanding song, it still sits comfortably within indie-pop territory without being a cheesy football anthem. Despite ‘Amores Perros’ being an almighty track that really grabs you from the very first listen, 'The Bit Between the Teeth' almost feels like it could do with another memorable ‘hit’ that has the same impact as the opener. It’s actually fairly difficult to categorize Skint & Demoralised but essentially Abbott is a wonderful story-teller documenting modern life in a Northern city.

Track Listing:-

1 Amores Perros
2 Plessey Road
3 Lucifer's Cardigan
4 Broadway Circle
5 When Saturday Comes
6 Breakfast at Sylvia's
7 Chippenham Travelodge
8 Bridge Street
9 The Long Night That Lies Ahead

Band Links:-

http://www.skintanddemoralised.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/skintanddemor
https://www.youtube.com/user/SkintandD

Label Links:-

https://www.youtube.com/user/HeistOrHi
https://twitter.com/heistorhit
http://www.last.fm/label/Heist+Or+Hit+
https://www.facebook.com/heistorhitrec
http://www.heistorhitrecords.com/