12. June 2025
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Media Review

Skunk Anansie – The Painful Truth

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

Skunk Anansie - The Painful Truth

Skunk Anansie - The Painful Truth
4.1

Rating

 4.1/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Very versatile listen
  • Strong vocal performance by Skin

Flyctory.com Cons

  • Some weaker spots

Last year, Skunk Anansie had their thirtieth band anniversary. Nine years after their last record Anarchytecture, the British band is releasing a new album. The Painful Truth has been released on 23rd May 2025. Here is my review.

 

Skunk Anansie – About The Artists

The alternative rock band Skunk Anansie have been formed in 1994 in London. However, the band had a hiatus between 2001 and 2009. Thereby, they  kept their line-up between 1995 and now. The most prominent member is likely Deborah Skin Dyer, who is the lead singer and guitarist of the band. The other members are Martin Ace Kent (guitar), Richard Cass Lewis (bass, keyboard), and Mark Richardson (drums, percussion). Skunk Anansie’s biggest song was Hedonism (Just Because You Feel Good), which was a Top 10 hit in Norway, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. It was a single of their sophomore album Stoosh (1996), after they had released their debut Paranoid & Sunburnt the year before.

The only time a Skunk Anansie album topped the charts was in 2010, though, when Wonderlustre was on the top in Italy. The 2016 album Anarchytecture made it to the Top 10 in Italy and Poland, where it got a golden record in both countries.

 

Skunk Anansie – The Painful Truth – Track by Track

The ten song album lasts 38 minutes.

1. An Artist Is An Artist

An Artist Is An Artist – the multi-platinum band start their album with a rocking track, which has an industrial track. Skin is is using a lot of spoken words and almost repetitively screams the title during the chorus. The fast pumping song drives the track to high speed. The first three minutes of The Painful Truth are truly catching.

2. This Is Not Your Life

The second song of the album is not having the energy and the aggression of the opener, but comes with a similar style. The electronic elements add a cool touch to the song. However, the words of the title appear a bit too often in this song. Somehow catching, somehow bothering.

3. Shame

The next song of The Painful Truth is Shame. It is significantly slower, which leads to a more touching and even a bit of hymnic feeling. Skin and her voice are the driving element of this song, the instrumental parts do define a nice atmosphere, though. The last part of the song is really powerful.

4. Lost And Found

For the first twenty seconds, Lost And Found solely focuses on the voice of Skunk Anansie’s singer. Thereafter, some instruments are joining in, but just in a rather decent way. This leads to a very intense, mysterious sound. A very pop-alike listen, which does add a nice flavor to the album, though.

5. Cheers

I wonder why Skunk Anansie chose Cheers as one of their single releases. To me, the song is not as characteristic as multiple other tracks on this record. Too soft to please the rock heart, but not that pop-ish that you could dance to it. It might be better when performed live on stage though.

6. Shoulda Been You

While I struggled with the predecessor, Shoulda Been You makes me smile significantly more. The stanzas have a cool groove, which even slightly leans towards reggae vibes. The chorus then is a cool and straight rocker with a nice drive. This one is a really nice listen.

7. Animal

I am an animal is the core message of the seventh track. The dark, thrilling sound with electronic sounds rather reminds of the beginning of this record. However, Skunk Anansie recorded a finer, more precise track here. I am not the biggest fans of the looped lyrics in the chorus, but the melody of that part of the song does compensate for it. Nice.

8. Fell In Love With A Girl

You fell in love with a girl who fell in love with a boy who fell in love with me. This message at the beginning of the song needs some analysis and logical digestions. In fact, the song gives you to imagine the situation, before the groovy bass takes control of this song. The song is not as sharp as other tracks on this release. However, it has a nice touch and adds another very different aspect to the record.

9. My Greatest Moment

The penultimate song is a nice pop track with some rock features. The genuine, slower and somehow marching style leads to a very interesting listen.

10. Meltdown

The closing song is a beautiful piano ballad. At the end of their 2025 album, Skunk Anansie share their most emotional song of that campaign. I feel amazed about the wide range of music this band is able to produce.

 

Skunk Anansie – The Painful Truth – Spotify

Here is the album on Spotify:

 

Skunk Anansie – The Painful Truth – My View

Skunk Anansie offer a wide range of songs. From a fine ballad like the closing song to rough and energetic rockers like the opener – The Painful Truth got it all. Skin and her band master this bandwidth. However, this also means that you might strongly some tracks over others. You also have to clearly state that there is no song with the quality and catch of Hedonism on this record. Finally, it is a good one, but it does not make it into the top notch ratings.

Favorite Song: Fell In Love With A Girl

 

London Top Pick! Reviews

Here are all my postings about London, which lead to a Top Pick! review:

 

Songs of the Week (May)

Here my Songs of the Week posts, published in May (regardless of the year):

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