By Vinnie Apicella

Is it my imagination or did this band just come out of nowhere?  I seemed to have the misgivings that Skunk Anansie were one of those talented "what if" groups that had what it took to make it big but indelibly earned nothing more than high end obscurity for their efforts while great music still went unnoticed… well apparently I'm wrong, and pleased to admit it.  "Post Orgasmic Chill" is everything a great album should be and exactly what the industry needs to put a fire in its belly.  But don't expect it to be picked up by mainstream support as the songs still remain a little too fearsome, their content still a little too deep for the everyday listener.  Yet "Post Orgasmic Chill" though it climbs a step above the "Skunks'" other two albums remains very true to character.  And how could it be any other way when you've got a fired-up chick named "Skin" at the forefront?  Bellowing cockney-laden unpleasantries on songs like "We Don't Need Who You Think You Are," when she's not doing soft & subtle-"Lately," "Secretly," "Good Things Don't Always Come to You"-this is an album of continually revolving moods and nobody does it better than she or her supporting cast.

I fell in love with two songs in particular from their last two releases, "I Can Dream" from the first release and "Brazen" from their last, "Stoosh" which to me was sorely underrated and underexposed-or so I thought-but can you be underexposed with 4 top 40 hits??  We begin the big show here with, who else, "Charlie Big Potato," very edgy, off center and nothing unexpected from S.A. in their wilder mood swings.  "We Don't Need Who You Think You Are" from before shows off their unquestionable diversity and billows with true harmonies, opening the pathway at first before angrily smashing the senses into submission as much of the music is apt to do. This is a rock band tried and true and though they present tons of different angles to their songs, stretching the boundaries yet again this go-round, they sound like no one you've ever heard and that's saying something in this day and age of new multi-dimensional artists overpopulating the industry.  Written less from the political view that more often than not laced their last recording, the songs are serious yet again, more personal and possess a distinctive live vibe to them, and clearly given more attention to detail this time around as mounting success will afford.  One of the bigger hits of the year for sure and watch this band achieve new levels of stardom with little or no support from the media. 

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