My first thought was that only band I could think of who really fuse pop-rock-R&B this way was a band I saw open for Plain White T’s several years ago called The Hatch… hmmm, whatever happened to The Hatch? Apparently they changed their name… to Burn Down the Mission! Sneaky!

Burn Down the Mission’s debut album (under that name, at least), Caroline, was produced by Warren Huart (Kris Allen, Augustana, The Fray) and mixed by Mark Needham (The Killers, Metro Station).

If one Arctic Monkeys fan somewhere buys one MP3 from their new album “Humbug,” out August 24th, that should cover the cost of the album’s art.

While the UK band recorded their third LP at Joshua Tree in California, they held the DIY “photo shoot” that produced the image.

“It’s a photo I took with a dollar camera. I bought a camera for a dollar while we were in Joshua Tree in the Californian desert. There were film students selling all this stuff off at ridiculously low prices.” Drummer Matt Helders told The Sun. “It’s a bold thing to be on the front of our album, even though we are still slightly disguised.”

I think Weezer would beg to differ:

Band of Skulls are far from their epic, high-concept Brit brothers Radiohead and Muse. The most obvious comparisons will be drawn to The White Stripes, with a touch of the Yeah Yeahs Yeahs, and even bluesy overtones that bring to mind The Black Keys or Cage the Elephant. Their challenge will be to maintain some of their distinctly UK atmospheric tone and not become complete clones of the stateside indie blues scene.

All in all, a very deliciously unexpected addition to Twilight… but even if you’re not a sucker for bloodsuckers, suck up some of Band of Skulls “Blood” and don’t hold their vamp ties against them:

Band of Skulls – “Blood” (MP3)

Download: I think I’m Getting Older