Advocating for freedom to quirkiness, Skinnerblends genres and cranks up the saturation for his debut album, New Wave Vaudeville. And it works! Here’s the review.
NEW WAVE VAUDEVILLE – SKINNER
A punk spirit in a funk body. Or sometimes, the other way around. With his debut album, New Wave Vaudeville, Skinner declares: let’s bring in total decadence. The multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer, and producer, based in Dublin, takes listeners on a space-time journey. Destination: New York, during the 70s-80s, at the legendary Club 57. Infused with Latin percussion, underpinned by funky riffs, punk saturation, and groovy saxophone, the no-wave vibe is established from the very first notes of New Wave Vaudeville. Skinner sets up the party only to trash the furniture with the furious, anxious, gut-punch track Tell My Ma.
Whether shouting or dancing, Skinner skillfully juggles his inspirations to create his own brand of chaos. His music comes straight from the gut, and you can feel it in every track, each one loaded with varying degrees of saturation (always pretty high, just to warn you). The biting Sour Milk is followed by the more pop-infused Jesus Wore Drag, a track that continues to celebrate individuality and harmless human eccentricity. More than harmless, this eccentricity is enriching and forms the core of the album, reflected in tracks like Geek Love.
In contrast, Skinner explores dark, frustrating moments to shape the introspective Spiralling and the cathartic Calling Sick, Doh Re Mi Fah, and When You Live In A Shoe. It’s an explosion in every direction as if each note was packed with nitroglycerine, shattering unreservedly against the instruments. However, Here Comes The Rain reminds us of just how varied Skinner‘s influences truly are. With the ever-present saxophone, Skinner concludes his debut album, New Wave Vaudeville. Through this work, he seems to assert that even if life feels chaotic and directionless, it’s always possible to find sweetness and humour. Perhaps, we just need to look in the right places.
