Screaming Banshee Aircrew- Fishnet Messiah

It would have to be said that the UK goth scene is going through something of a difficult time these days. The faithful in black are still there, and there are enough events, clubs and gigs to keep this scene going for many a year yet. It is however in the bands that there seems to be a lack of real quality. With a few exceptions, all the big names seem to have been and gone, leaving us with a bunch of also-rans, and the biggest UK goth festival has to resort to booking 1980s comedy act Dr & The Medics as a crowd-puller.

Into this scene comes Screaming Banshee Aircrew. It has to be said that they are one of the biggest and most popular UK goth acts these days, and to their credit, they are attempting to plant the seeds of something new and great. What other goth band employs male and female vocals, together with violin in their sound?

In terms of sound, SBA employ a blend of sleazy, quirky goth rock. There are Sisters guitar lines littering this album, notably on ‘Deliriously’, together with more punky touches eg ‘Lost in Space’. There is energy aplenty too – in the words of Killing Joke, ‘this is music to march to’ At times SBA bring to mind old UK favourites The March Violets, which is no bad thing.

The violin seems to take a backseat here compared to the live show, although Jo Violet’s vocal’s are well employed to complement Mr Ed’s gothy tones.

Criticisms are slight, there are too many tracks to make this a coherent product, and even the Magic Hands and Ears of uber-producer Mike Uwins can’t fix the poor mix during the mastering of this album. As to whether Screaming Banshee Aircrew deserve to fall by the wayside as one of the also-rans, or join their heroes in the goth equivalent of Valhalla, that’s up to the black clad ones in the UK I guess.