Underskog

GrimSkunk from Montréal, one of Québec and Canada’s most enduring and hard-working independent psych-rock-punk bands is back with their new album “SET FIRE!”. They’re now on tour in Norway.

Recorded by Gus Van Go and Werner F (Priestess, the Stills) in Sydney, Australia, the long awaited follow-up to “Fires under the road” is first and foremost a journey to the other side of the world, where spontaneity and instinctiveness were foremost from start to finish of the creative process.

Delving into the band’s rich history of sound, influences and inventiveness, the album captures the GrimSkunk spirit with pure, raw energy and emotion; a whirlwind of punk angst and outrage, and the hopeful, almost hippie idealism of those who dare to dream. As always, the band allowed their environment “down under” to permeate and inspire their music, inviting local aboriginal artist and didjeribone player Tjupurru to perform and create freely on 2 songs: Falling into shadow and Set fire to the nation; lending a dark trance-like and distinctly Australian sound to the tracks.

Visually, the album cover and artwork was created by aboriginal Australian artist and folk singer Gambirra Illume who created a painting blending traditional aboriginal art with the darker skunk/punk vibe and socially oriented music and lyrics the band has always been known for.

SET FIRE! was recorded with an old-school approach; a vintage 70’s drum kit with a beastly 26" bass drum, 60’s guitar amps and some rare, typically Australian mics, all found locally in a frenetic treasure hunt! The end result combines 70’s psych-rock and Joe Evil’s trademark organ with new drummer Ben Shatskoff’s savage pounding beats, screaming guitar riffs and the urgency of outraged punk energy and lyrics; the bastard child of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and the Clash on amphetamines!

Tearing away at every fabric of human failure and society’s ills, the album is an urgent call to arms for peace, a revolution of the heart; to reject the current climate of narrow-mindedness and intolerance, to shake off apathy and build a better future!