Skeletons - PEOPLE (2011, Shinkoyo)

RIYL = The Dirty Projectors, Nat Baldwin, Extra Life

I don’t have a proper place to set down Skeletons. Money was better than you remember, and if you have not made memories with it, better than you think. So, this, the follow up to that, is something that I’ve been excited about for awhile and something for which I am happy to announce,now, after having given it time, my full satisfaction. Skeletons still seem to go wherever they want, despite where they might be expected to go, and yet, do not filter into those obtuse areas that are hard for Americans to stand in -- this is listenable (in an experimental? type way), and recognizable: singing, words, instruments, notes. In this space, however, PEOPLE bends past those identifiable albums who seem to inhabit the same categorical place for setting something down (to be grouped). I like Skeletons a lot for that. Perhaps respect them, more than like them. But I do like them, what am I saying? This stuff is brilliant, madcap, point-shifting R&B with a space-noise downward swirl, pop, and, really, independent rock n’ roll, (the way they all make it), but still pouring off the roof to a different gravity, with a soulful anchor. And in that way, there is confusion, when thinking comes into play. A bizarre play, but perfect one in the face of it. I say: Good job Skeletons, good job.

This is a terrible review of a great album.  New review:  PEOPLE is an awesome album by a band called Skeletons.

Should've

These are the incredible albums that I cannot deny knowing about and still, by some force I have not yet identified, neglected to list among my favourite albums for this past decade. If I did it all over again, each of these would find a spot on the list, without question. Essentially: my bad.


MoHa!
One-Way Ticket to Candyland
(Rune Grammofon, 2008)

What I feel was my largest omission, the biggest hole in my ragged end-of-decade list, was the masterwork of noise and confusion that is MoHa!’s One-Way Ticket to Candyland. Corralling their freejazz noise splatter into tighter, more structured bursts of hardcore punk fury, this album should have sunk deep into the top 50 of my list. I know that I thought of it during my deliberations. The band’s tonal attack must have dislodged a memory circuit or something. They'll do that.


El-P
Fantastic Damage
(Def Jux, 2002)

With production as crumbled and noisy and paranoid as anything on The Cold Vein (of course, you already knew that those are his fingerprints on them beats too, right?) and with a thick cadence and lyricism that constantly informs any attempts I make at poetry/lyrical-fiction, how could I throw Fantastic Damage under the bus? Forever repentant.


Interpol
Antics
(Matador, 2004)

I like Interpol better than Joy Division and I like Antics better than Turn On The Bright Lights (which is a fairly recent development). Sue me. Then sue me again for not listing this the first go around.




Skeletons
Money
(Tomlab, 2008)

An underappreciated (even by me, apparently) avant funk trip, Money is a crowning achievement of hybrid indie rock aesthetics. Jazzy, rocking, bluesy and all that. Skeletons, as the constantly shifting moniker of genius musician Matt Mehlan and his cronies, has never been more vibrant, colorful, dark and enveloping as on this album. That the group will find commonalities with The Dirty Projectors doesn’t mean that they aren’t unique; also, Money is way better than Bitte Orca (IMHO).

-Thistle

Skeletons - Money

Skeletons
Money
(11.2008, Tomlab)
Verdict = Ridiculously ambitious and surprisingly wonderful

My goodness, here is a surprise. Usually around late-November/December everything is on cruise control which makes an album like this one all the more shocking when it blips on the radar. Skeletons (formerly with various addendums attached to their names but now gloriously bare) have created a monster with Money, their fifth or sixth full length album and first for Tomlab. So what’s the big surprise? We are pretty familiar with monsters here at FG. Why is this album so surprising? Well, I guess an intrinsic part of it is that Money embodies something fresh so it is kind of hard to classify. Money is just alive and I don’t know if there is any other way to put it. There is a fluidity here, something “organic,” something with pulsing lungs, a beating heart and, happily, a brain. Another part of it is that it is big. Not necessarily in size (though it clocks in at a healthy 50 plus minutes) but in its philosophical breadth and creative makeup – Money is just big, like monstrously big. As such, you might imagine that Money isn’t any breezy fast food pop. Skeletons have created something that requires a bit of digestion, but don’t confuse that with indigestion cuz Money’s got nutrients! The album uses the ten track album format to encase a sprawlingly ambitious fusion of avant indie rock with R&B, jazz and world music. Its is definitely odd, but after an introductory trial run, the prancing guitar lines, flush brass, skittery drum passages and thick rhythms will have undoubtedly sparked an intrigued grin. Delving deeper into Money will only expand that intrigue into satisfaction and then to elation. It is just one of those rare ambitious albums that has been fully realized; a classic that can be enjoyed front to back. Skeletons have continually proved themselves to be in the same blissful, forward thinking realm as equally creative bands like The Dirty Projectors or Zs and should be likewise celebrated. Money is their evidence.

-Mr. Thistle

Skeletons Myspace