Aries Season was launched on 17 April 2023 (oops – time flies) as a double A side with Hearts & Rockets’ “Clown Town” (gallery), and the two bands packed out the Merri Creek Tavern’s band room for the launch.

The track is a slight departure from the usual Skinks sound; it’s fast-paced, markedly punchy, and dominated by electric instruments. Lyrically it drops the band’s usual melancholy happy-sad tone for an unbridled celebration of the self.

If the teaser for the first full Skinks album is anything to go by, however, it’s not a permanent change of pace for the self-described “wimpy pub rock band from Preston.” We’ll find out when that album launches at Thornbury Bowls this afternoon.

Another tease was the night’s closing track, which saw drummer Allison move to guitar for co-vocalist/guitarist Rick’s joyous celebration of his grandparents. You can hear a grab from that below the video – the band plans to release the full recording (with better audio and video) some time in the future.

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And here’s the clip mentioned above. Follow Skink Tank on Instagram and Bandcamp to get the heads up when their full clip is released.