SKABS, THE "Aged to Perfection" CD

THE SKABS, New York punk Legends: 1993 – 2001. Years before electroclash, long before anything like a post-punk revival hit, in a time when the Lower East Side could hardly have been imagined as SoHo re-dux, the Skabs routinely held court in that skeleton of a building known as ABC No Rio and became one of the most original punk bands of that era in New York. This CD is their first proper album, coming to fruition almost 8 years after their formation, and comprised of nothing short of their whole repertoire at the time they injected more synth and drum machine sounds into their dark punk sound. Originally released on Mad at the World Records in 2001 (Hungry Eye's pre-existing punk sister label) as an attempt to help out our great friends, Aged to Perfection is a bit rough around the edges, and hardly easy listening, but bears witness to a truly significant and underappreciated band. Unafraid to step painfully outside the mould, and noisily prowl the margins. The Skabs proved too dark for the punk crowd, too rowdy and boisterous for the goth crowd, and much too belligerent for any indie crowd, and ultimately self-destructed, but not before leaving their mark on a number of audiences in New York and throughout the US and recording a few sought after recordings, making them something of a cult-classic.