Here We Go, How To Be Free and Wings Of Desire follow in similar anthemic fashion before Things We’ve Seen, a haunting and atmospheric trek across Europe full of nostalgia and regret, brings things to a close. The green vinyl edition was exclusively available at the live launch event held at Dunfermline Abbey on Friday 30th June 2023 and within a few very limited bundles. Co-written with Hugh Cornwell, this last track has a distinctly different feel to the rest of the album displaying a more wistful side to Jobson’s songwriting.

Online since 2010 it is one of the fastest-growing and most respected music-related publications on the net. Coming across like some deranged motivational speaker, our budding wordsmith is clearly a man in a hurry on this hilariously awful but curiously infectious album (and the last one wasn't exactly Bob Dylan. This new album follows in the footsteps of Days In Europa as a celebration of friendship and shared experiences.The band note Europe as an ongoing inspiration for the new LP; "from the beauty of the Renaissance to the savagery of many wars, the highs and lows have been from there as an ongoing and ever evolving influence. Recorded in 2022, Destination Dusseldorf, the brand new studio album from Scotland's legendary Skids, will be released in 2023 on an array of Vinyl, CD and DL. Destination Düsseldorf may not have the youthful explosion of ideas of Scared To Dance or the strength of concept and production of its two successors, but the obvious vitality, enthusiasm and lack of pretension makes this a more than worthwhile addition to the Skids collection in its own right.

I'm sure it's deliberate move, but Don't Stop and Wings of Desire are a far cry from Jobsons' lyrical best. As Jobson says of the album; “It feels fresh but never wanders too far from our love of anthems with energy.

For a while, the Skids, founded by the great and sadly missed Stuart Adamson in 1977, shone very brightly in the early punk / new wave firmament. In fact, he tells us that he's going again so many times at one point that you want to scream "just go already! How To Be Free" opens with swirling guitars before turning in a simple catchy chorus, it's another that's also rather good. Rather than attempting to emulate the spiked artiness of debut Scared To Dance, the bold historical statement of Days In Europa or the polished intensity of The Absolute Game, Jobson wisely went with big anthems, stirring choruses, vigorous backing vocals and rousing slogans, and with Destination Düsseldorf, it’s in many ways more of the same.

Then contact your credit card company, it may take some time before your refund is officially posted. There’s nothing very specific in the lyrics as Jobson urges; ‘Look at the world around you, realise the dreams, got to fight for the answers, open your eyes and see’, but it’s a pretty safe bet which enemies this particular politicised Scot is drawing our attention to. Following "Destination Dusseldorf" was always going to difficult but "Here We Go Again" with its driving marching drumbeat and sparse guitarwork works is another that has me wanting to dance although the unnecessary coda has me thinking the track has ended and I'm listening to something different.It was really anthemic stuff and Richard Jobson made you feel that you were being educated, whilst Stuart Adamson's Guitar riffs just completely hooked me completely. Tidal Wave, the first of several songs written in collaboration with Matin Metcalfe, follows in a similar vein with a powerful chorus and earnest words foretelling momentous changes on the horizon. Why would anyone want to dump on their legacy of innovation with a bunch of the hoariest Rock n Roll musical and lyrical cliches known to man?