If someone came up to me and asked what I thought of that new rap/hip-hop/dance/trance album, I would say things to them that would probably make them want to go take a shower afterwards. But thankfully this week on iTunes was a forgiving one and introduced me to Sweet Sour, the new album from alternative English rock trio, Band of Skulls.

This band appealed to me almost immediately. Their heavy grunge influences, with overly distorted guitars, and a touch of blues was exactly to my liking, and the smooth harmonized vocals were an interesting addition to the simple and familiar song structure. If you’ve never listened to Band of Skulls, think of a slightly toned down Alice in Chains- but don’t let that comparison lead you to believe that the band has a lack of original sound, it’s definitely their own and a good one to boot.

The album starts off with a track of the same name, giving us a good inclination of what this band is all about. “Sweet Sour” is a slow, but heavy groove with a big chorus that sets us up for the rest of the record quite well. While as a full album Sweet Sour sometimes suffers from many of the songs sounding a bit too similar to one another (especially with the softer tracks), individually, all the songs are pretty good. My favorite being “The Devil Takes Care of His Own,” which has a main riff so catchy, I immediately picked up my guitar and taught it to myself. The quieter songs, while nice to listen to, end up being much of the album’s weaknesses.

Sweet Sour is a good album, but unfortunately it falls short of being a great one. If you like alternative rock music with an emphasis on electric guitar, then you will probably enjoy it, or at least a few songs off of it. Either way, it’s definitely worth checking out. Band of Skulls is a group I’m going to be keeping my eye on. They have all the right ingredients to be something great, all that’s missing is a little more development and creative diversity, which I really hope they can accomplish with their next album.