Gig review: Skunk Anansie, Glasgow

Resurgent after reuniting three years ago, Skunk Anansie combine alternative swagger and political posturing with a metal-lite devotion.

Skunk Anansie

o2 ABC, Glasgow

* * *

Despite their advanced years, they still rock pretty hard and in arch-feminist Skin, they retain an iconic, redoubtable frontwoman – whether imploring security not to throw out a couple of disruptive elements or striding out across the crowd during an impassioned Weak, borne high on shoulders back to the stage when she inevitably fell.

Screaming “get off me, get off me” through opener the Skank Heads, there’s a primal quality to their sound reiterated by I Will Break You, with guitarist Ace hammering away alongside his firebrand singer’s raw, vocal assault.

Alternating between lust, spitting rage and maybe both when dedicating the weightily tuneful God Loves Only You to the new pope, they occasionally appeal to the hips on a track like Lost from Skin’s solo career and delve into balladry with songs like Hedonism, as the crowd howls the anthemic chorus back to the stage. Granted, there’s a formulaic quality to their oeuvre when taken as a whole but there’s no denying the punch. I Hope You Get To Meet Your Hero is a considerably more brazen, thundering proposition live and My Ugly Boy crunches the air with a thick guitar riff – one of the highlights of their most recent album,

This Is Not A Game shares an ominously heavy bassline with a thumping, mid-tempo rhythm, confounding expectations about where the song is going once it unfolds – a rare diversion in a solid but workmanlike set.