Skunk Anansie - The Painful Truth - OUT NOW
British rock icons SKUNK ANANSIE have released their brand album The Painful Truth, along with brand new single ‘Shame’.
The Painful Truth is a truly mesmerising, provocative, powerful and emotional album. It is the sound of Skunk Anansie facing up to who they are and what they want to become. It is more than an album title. It is a reality that they have lived through and has been greeted by rapturous reviews.
THE PAINFUL TRUTH REVIEWS
- “Has a raw, experimental feel... creating a record that has a bleak, sonically rich beauty” – MOJO
- “From proudly queer love songs to spine-tingling piano weepies to stadium-sized lust confessionals this is Skunk Anansie’s most musically ambitious album yet... lively, adventurous, emotionally raw” – Classic Rock
- “Skunk Anansie's most vital and inventive album in years... they’ve taken everything that made them special in the first place – the punk attitude, the driving rock melodies, and frontwoman Skin’s incredible voice – and rearranged it all into something thrillingly fresh and recognisably now.... Skunk Anansie at the absolute peak of their powers” – Metal Hammer
- “The Painful Truth sounds eye-openingly fresh for a band with such history... shinier, more expansive, less guitar reliant, and frankly as good as anything they’ve done... mixing ska with rock, electronics and synths with throbbing bass and disarming melodies” – Kerrang!
- “A return that is determined, defiant and thrilling” – Songwriting Magazine
- “Skunk Anansie’s very fine new album” – Daily Telegraph
- “An immensely strong album that will only grow in appreciation and stature” – Powerplay
- “A record that shows Skunk Anansie as true masters of their art” – Devolution
Produced by David Sitek of TV On The Radio fame it’s a fresh, frank, uplifting and textured album, with the band’s knack for writing big pop songs remaining defiantly undiminished. If anything, their hooks this time around are sharper and sink in quicker.
The Painful Truth is Skunk Anansie’s first release on the newly formed FLG Records, and it comes with a freshness that belies their storied career and previous multi-platinum achievements. It’s a record that sees Skunk Anansie reclaim their place as one of the most exciting, visionary and important bands in British music.
“When I really think about it, yes, we have made some good records in our time but it’s been a long time since we have made a great album. And that is the painful truth,” confesses Skin. “Understanding that, led us to making what I genuinely think is our greatest record yet.”
Skunk Anansie will be playing album release shows across the country over the next seven days, starting with a very special headline performance at Good Times Festival tonight. The band have another run of huge European headline shows this summer before appearing as Special Guests in the UK at the two outdoor Smashing Pumpkins shows in August.
- 23 May - Good Times At The Ridings 2025 - Chipping Sodbury, United Kingdom
- 24 May - Leeds Crash - Leeds, United Kingdom
- 25 May - Liverpool Jacaranda - Liverpool, United Kingdom
- 26 May - London Rough Trade East - London, United Kingdom
- 27 May - Oxford Truck - Oxford, United Kingdom
- 28 May - Nottingham Rough Trade - Nottingham, United Kingdom
- 29 May - PRYZM Kingston - Kingston Upon Thames, United Kingdom
- 18 Jun - Copenhell 2025 - Copenhagen, Denmark
- 20 Jun - Lukiškių kalėjimas 2.0 - Vilnius, Lithuania
- 21 Jun - Palladium Riga - Rīga, Latvia
- 22 Jun - Helitehas - Tallinn, Estonia
- 23 Jun - Allas Sea Pool - Helsingfors, Finland
- 25 Jun - Fållan - Johanneshov, Sweden
- 26 Jun - Leiligheten Rockefeller - Oslo, Norway
- 28 Jun - TW Classic Festival 2025 - Werchter, Belgium
- 30 Jun - Posthalle GmbH - Würzburg, Germany
- 1 Jul - Schlachthof Wiesbaden - Wiesbaden, Germany
- 2 Jul - Marktplatz Markdorf - Markdorf, Germany
- 5 Jul - BCT Music Festival - Benevento, Italy
- 6 Jul - Senigallia Festival - Senigallia, Italy
- 8 Jul - Cavea Auditorium Parco Della Musica - Rome, Italy
- 9 Jul - Sequoie Music Park - Bologna, Italy
- 11 Jul - Marostica Summer Festival Volksbank - Marostica, Italy
- 12 Jul - Villa Bertelli Live - Forte Dei Marmi Lu, Italy
- 13 Jul - Brescia Music Festival - Brescia, Italy
- 15 Jul - GARAGE - Saarbrücken, Germany
- 19 Jul - Posthof Zeitkultur Am Hafen - Linz, Austria
- 20 Jul - SRC Šalata - Zagreb, Croatia
- 25 Jul - Hills of Rock Festival 2025 - Plovdiv, Bulgaria
- 10 Aug - Gunnersbury Park - South West London, United Kingdom
- 14 Aug - Colchester Castle Park - Colchester, United Kingdom
