York and Leeds band Skylights recently launched a promo CD to much local buzz in both the press and on radio.
Opener, “What You Are” shows why. A soaring beast of a song with a punch that wakes you up and makes you take notice. Swirling guitar paves the way for vocals full of attitude and swagger before a big kick into the chorus of “She Said … What You Are, What You Need, What You Mean For Me”
“Nothing Left To Say” follows, which is set to be their next official release, with an accompanying video. A slower song which keeps the anthemic theme going with powerful background harmonies.
The guitar sound certainly has some of the intricacies and other-worldliness of Leeds band The Music who enjoyed success with UK top 10 albums between 2002 and 2008, and are a major influence. Guitarist Turnbull states “Yeah, The Music are a massive influence on me as a guitar player and the sound of the band as a whole. Adam Nutter (The Music guitarist) was an extraordinary talent. They really should have gone onto even greater success. On a local level, we also love Shed Seven. I guess we get a lot of the anthemic sound from them. We also want to give the sound some balls – The Pistols, Clash and The Cult are all in there somewhere.”
The band hail from York; singer Rob currently lives in Leeds. Rob and bass player Jonny are huge Leeds United football fans. Rob picks up the conversation “Leeds United are a massive part of our lives. We’ve all followed them since kids. The band came after. We wanted to try to capture some of the excitement and passion of a Leeds match day in a record. Our first official release and video is “YRA”. Turnbull came up with the intro riff and chords, then I added some magic with the lyrics (laughs). The title comes from a Leeds United terrace chant. We’ve tried to incorporate the football element subtly but Leeds fans know what it’s about !!”
In the late 80’s Leeds band The Bridewell Taxis captured Leeds’ imagination. A bunch of local kids who took Manchester’s baggy scene and made it their own with a mixture of indie anthems, a baggy sensibility but all punctuated with trombone, which created a Leeds scene all of it’s own. Rob only recently discovered The Bridewell Taxis but is fast becoming a fan. “You know, it’s amazing we hadn’t heard of them but I guess it’s a generation thing. They’ve a unique sound and I like the attitude that comes across in their songs. I’ve heard they were around when Leeds United had all that success under Howard Wilkinson. Wouldn’t it be something if we could be the local soundtrack to success with (new Leeds Manager) Bielsa.”
I ask Turnbull about their ambitions “Well we started in about 2008. We messed around a bit and did a few gigs. I don’t know why but we just got fed up and stopped 6 years ago. In January this year, we all got chatting and everyone had the same hunger to give it another go. We’ve done some local gigs in York but we are lining up more and want to really push onto bigger gigs in Leeds and other local cities. At the moment we’ve no ambitions beyond maybe big supports to Shed Seven or The Pigeon Detectives (Leeds band) but hey, you never say never”.
Perhaps the most potent statement is on “Brittannia”, with the rhythmic chant of “Believe You Can Achieve It”. I believe they can.
There’s seven great tracks on the promo CD, available from the band … message them on FACEBOOK.
Skylights are
Vocals – Rob Scarisbrick
Guitar – Turnbull Smith
Bassist – Jonny Scarisbrick
Drums – Myles Soley
