Skunk Anansie - Stoosh
On October 7, 1996, "Skunk Anansie" released their second studio album, "Stoosh".
In the mid-1990s, when British rock was preoccupied with national pride and rivalries between bands, "Skunk Anansie" sounded as though they had arrived from somewhere else entirely. The guitars were heavy, the bass knew how to dance, and at the microphone stood Skin, a singer who could sound menacing, sensual and vulnerable within a single musical phrase. On "Stoosh", those qualities came together in songs capable of reaching far beyond their existing audience, including listeners who might never have imagined embracing a band whose album opened with "Yes It's Fucking Political".
That is a large part of its appeal. We can find our way in through the chorus of "Hedonism (Just Because You Feel Good)", only to discover a band that refuses to let us get too comfortable. Even when the melody welcomes us, something in Skin's voice will not settle. She sings about longing, desire and relationships falling apart with the same conviction she brings to her anger at apathy. All of these things carry weight for her, and the band knows exactly how to make us hear it.
The band formed in London in 1994, with Skin, guitarist Martin "Ace" Kent, bassist Richard "Cass" Lewis and drummer Robbie France. Mark Richardson replaced France during 1995, completing the lineup heard here. Their debut, "Paranoid & Sunburnt", had already brought together political anger, heavy rock, groove and forceful choruses. Performing and finding success gave them confidence, but also exposed them to the press's persistent attempts to explain the band through their singer's appearance and identity. The music was far more interesting than the labels attached to it.
Production was entrusted to Garth Richardson, known as GGGarth, with recording taking place at "Great Linford Manor" in Milton Keynes. In an interview ahead of the release, Skin explained that they had been given just five weeks to record the album. The pressure was intense, but her intention was clear: simplify the songs so their emotion could reach the listener. The writing drew on Skin, Ace and Cass, alongside Len Arran, Skin's collaborator on several of the standout tracks. Strings were added where they suited the arrangements, and the production allowed the music to expand beyond the explosive shifts that had characterized the debut.
It is easy to be dazzled by Skin and momentarily forget how good the three musicians behind her are. Ace has no need to fill every gap with a solo. He knows how to shape a riff and leave room for the voice. Cass gives the bass a presence we can follow even when the guitar takes over, while Richardson brings together the force of heavy rock and the movement of a groove. That is why the transitions between a song that makes us want to jump and one that leaves us alone with its words feel so natural. This is a band that listens to its singer, and knows when to interrupt her.
The opening "Yes It's Fucking Political" leaves no doubt about their position. The clipped riff, drums and cutting delivery turn its title into a direct response to anyone who insisted that music and politics should be kept apart. Skin had already made it clear that she wrote from what she had experienced and witnessed, and would not let a music critic decide which subjects belonged in her songs. Placing it at the start of the album makes perfect sense. Before revealing their softer sides, the band makes sure we understand that they have surrendered nothing.
"All I Want" keeps the momentum going with a gritty guitar, an excellent rhythm section and a chorus that sticks immediately. Beneath a title that could be mistaken for a declaration of love lies a song about greed, inspired by people the band encountered in the United States whose lives revolved around money. There is an almost insolent pleasure in the playing, and Skin sounds both seductive and mocking. Within the first two tracks, we can already hear how musical their anger is, and how much thought has gone into making it move.
The heart of "Stoosh", however, lies in the songs where that confidence begins to crack. On "Infidelity (Only You)", the guitar makes room for a more intimate atmosphere, and the arrangement gives the voice time to develop. Skin can sing softly without letting the tension disappear. When she raises her voice, we sense how much effort it took to contain it earlier. This is one of the moments that reveals the power of her restraint, her ability to hold back an outburst until it is truly needed.
Then comes "Hedonism (Just Because You Feel Good)", the song that became one of the most widely traveled routes into their music. Its acoustic guitar and bright melody are almost deceptive. The chorus is easy to remember and easy to join in with, but the hurt in the voice is impossible to miss. The words address someone who has moved on while another person is still trying to recover, and the remark about their enjoyment takes on a particularly bitter edge. We recognize that distance between someone who seems to have found their footing and someone still trying to work out what to do with the memories.
Skin also connected the song to life amid success, the constant expectation to go out and have a good time, and the need to stop and consider what it is doing to us. That explanation broadens what we can hear in it without compromising its simplicity. Here is a song that holds a great deal of pain in accessible language, with a chorus that manages to be immensely catchy and uncomfortable at the same time. We can sing it at full volume, then find ourselves lingering over what it said more quietly.
"Twisted (Everyday Hurts)" offers another compelling contradiction. The rhythm section drives it forward with an almost carefree sense of movement, while the lyrics remain steeped in distress. In the chorus, Skin opens up her voice and the guitar adds weight, but the groove keeps working beneath it all. Our bodies want to move while our minds register something more troubling. That combination gives the song a life beyond the era in which it was recorded, and reminds us how well the band can keep things moving even when the subject matter weighs heavily.
On "Brazen (Weep)", the confrontation becomes more intimate and more intense. The verses allow tension to build before the chorus throws it wide open. Skin sounds wounded and angry, but also determined to draw a response from the person facing her, to encounter genuine feeling at last instead of defensiveness. Some singers would have turned this material into an overly grand ballad. She keeps its rough edges intact, while the guitars supply the force it demands. As her voice rises, we can hear the fracture within it.
The political edge returns on "We Love Your Apathy", which directs its anger at the indifference that allows the status quo to endure. The weight of the riff gives it a threatening presence, reminding us that the band has lost none of its bite on the way to the airwaves. By contrast, "Pickin On Me" strips things back, showing how little is sometimes needed to make us uneasy. These moments matter to the album as a whole. They keep it from becoming merely a collection of singles and bring us back to the stubborn voice connecting them.
There are moments when the intensity becomes a little exhausting, particularly when the delivery remains wound tight for too long. The strongest melodies set a standard that some of the other tracks cannot quite meet. Even so, the album's variety gives it room to breathe, and the shifts between aggressive rock and exposed vocals keep drawing us back. We believe Skin even when she pushes things to extremes, because those extremes feel like part of the emotion.
"Stoosh" reached No. 9 on the UK albums chart and remained on the chart for an extended run. The singles, especially "Hedonism (Just Because You Feel Good)" and "Brazen (Weep)", broadened the band's audience and helped establish their standing across Europe. The significance of that success goes beyond the numbers. A band with a heavy sound, an independent outlook and an impossible-to-ignore singer managed to reach a wide audience without smoothing away everything that made them intriguing.
The cover fits the experience perfectly. Skin's face thrusts into the foreground, enlarged, distorted and unsettling, with the other three band members behind her. As in the music, our attention is immediately drawn to her, but the entire band is there. It is difficult to remain indifferent to that image, and harder still to remain indifferent to the voice that emerges from it.
For Listening: Spotify, Apple Music
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