Matt Skiba and the Sekrets
Babylon
Century Media
7/10
Skiba’s become the Wooderson of punk bands; he gets older, but his lyrics stay the same age. I mean, I love me some Alkaline Trio, but “Luciferian Blues?” “Angel of Deaf?!” What is that? Are you 17? Come on Skeebs, please stop playing Magic: The Gathering while in the studio and get some new material.
That said, me from 2001 loves it. I mean, it’s Alkaline Trio without Dan Adriano balancing out Skeebs’ attempt to CHANNEL HIS INNER ADAM ANT. The Sekrets (WITH A K, MATT?!) are probably his biggest enablers, with AFI’s bassist Hunter Burgan and Jarrod Alexander, the drummer from My Chemical Romance, giving him product recommendations. As ridiculous as I think it is, I can’t stop listening to it. I suppose there’s a lesson about not judging people on what they look like or something, but I don’t care to go searching for it.
-Jonathan Yost