Bard Rock

THE gruesome name suggests old-school metal, but Band of Skulls have their roots in something far more literary – the works of the Bard of Avon.

“The name refers to Shakespeare’s Hamlet,” laughs singer and bass guitarist Emma Richardson.

“Or rather from a picture of Hamlet that was on the sign at the venue where we used to run a club night. It showed him holding a skull – so we became Band of Skulls.”

Of course Emma, guitarist and singer Russell Marsden and drummer Matt Hayward have come a long way since that residency, Club Skull at the Talking Heads venue in Southampton. Since then they’ve sold out some of the world’s coolest venues, and seen their music cropping up everywhere from film and TV soundtracks (most notably Twilight: New Moon) to adverts (for Hugo Boss). They’ve had a global iTunes Single of the Week with their instant classic I Know What I Am, have been picked to support the mighty Black Keys, and have now gone and made the record of their lives – Sweet Sour, released this week.

The album is a heady mix of riff-crunching rock, reverb-heavy psychedelia and tender splashes of soul-searching inde-pop.

It’s shamelessly ambitious but succeeds, and will certainly be held up as one of the best albums of the year.

“I’m not sure if it’s what people are expecting,” says Emma, sounding more coy than you might expect from the woman responsible for those driving Skulls rhythms.

“Our first album was a mix of quiet and loud, and this is even more so. It’s rocking – but quieter, and evolves into a surprise near the end.”

That contrast between the raucous and fragile betrays supreme confidence. And, says Emma, it’s a real group effort.

“We are a three-piece rock and roll band, but there’s more to it than that. Because there are two vocals, we get some interesting and beautiful harmonies on the top of heavy rock.”

She goes on: “Because we all write and work together, each song is the sum of three people’s input. That means we do talk things out and even row – but there’s nothing that can’t be solved. After all, we’ve known each other for a long time and are used to being together for long periods, so we understand each other.”

They all met around Southampton – local lads Russell and Matt having been friends, and making music, since the age of 12. Emma, meanwhile, who also designs the band’s artwork, met Russell at art college up the road in Winchester.

“We’ve always wanted to write and play music,” she says. “We only started playing live to see how people responded. But you know when you’ve come up with a good song when everyone gets the tingle. That’s what keeps us going.”

And that's kind of what they’re still doing, as they continue a headline tour, which on March 1 reaches the O2 Academy Oxford.

So does the tour find the band in full-on rock ’n’ roll mode? “Well, we like to have a few drinks and enjoy ourselves,” she says.

“That also means staying up late. If we’ve been on stage we have to stay up until 4am for the adrenaline to die down.

“It’s a different lifestyle. Though we are quite well behaved.”

So at what moment since leaving Club Skull and heading out on tour did Emma realise that the band had made it? “That was at a festival in America,” she says.

“We were backstage, and Beyonce and Jay-Z walked in front of us.

“We were like ‘wow, we’re in Palm Springs, we’re playing to 15,000 people and are standing next to two of the biggest stars in the world. It was a real ‘pinch yourself’ moment.”

* Band of Skulls play the O2 Academy Oxford on Thursday, March 1. Go to ticketweb for details.