A whole quarter century has passed since Skunk Anansie’s history-making show as the final band of the previous millennium to headline Glastonbury, which rounded off a blazing run of multi-platinum albums and monster hits. A lengthy sabbatical, solo albums and side projects followed before these trailblazing British “Clit Rock” icons reunited in 2009. Alas their ongoing second act has so far produced just two fairly patchy albums.
Skunk Anansie’s first album in nine years, The Painful Truth lands in the thick of an extended rough patch for the band. Following management shake-ups, plus bassist Cass Lewis and drummer Mark Richardson both undergoing cancer treatment, life has acquired a new urgency. And resting on their laurels would mean creative death
