London reggae-punks The Skints have just released their fourth album, Swimming Lessons, and they perform at the Echoplex this week, so we chatted with guitarist and vocalist Josh Waters Rudge…

L.A. WEEKLY: The band is 12 years old — how do you feel the sound has evolved? Particularly between FM and Swimming Lessons?
JOSH WATERS RUDGE: Wow, the band and sound has evolved so much since it’s inception, but between FM and Swimming Lessons we just felt like, we got this far, it’s our fourth album — we can do whatever we want!

What is the London punk scene like today? Does it feel like there's a support system of like-minded local bands?
That’s a good question; I’d say the scene is a little more fragmented than it used to be but there are various scenes and bands all doing really cool stuff and song their thing — nowadays we are definitely a little out the loop of everything that is happening locally due to global touring commitments however.

Do you enjoy L.A.? Any cool memories?
Love L.A.! Had a bunch of great shows there over the years from our first show at The Mint to a sold out Roxy show. Plus some of our favorite bands are from there like the Expanders and the Aggrolites.

What can we expect from your set?
The Magic, the Calm, the Fury.

After this tour, what else do you have planned this year?
We’re about to smash out a few festivals in Europe and U.K. after this run then do a full European headlining tour in October/November. Hopefully be back in the States before the end of the year.

The Skints play at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, June 4 at the Echoplex.

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