"you can be yourself now / no one's watching..."
Skittish is a weird, wonky, multi-colored art outfit and their latest album "Midwest Handshake" might (upon first listen) feel like a playlist more than an album. This is because the songs therein span a diverse large chasm of styles. Skittish while based in Los Angeles, have deep roots in Minnesota soil, hence "Midwest" as opposed to "Westcoast Handshake". At the artistic songwriting core of this sort of pastiche album you have it's auteur Jeff Noller. If you dig into the album or even peruse it (like I have) on one side of the aforementioned chasm you might find Cole Porter and at the other Modest Mouse with subterranean caves leading to Rufus Wainwright or Human Sexual Response or Van Morrison or Feist or Townes Van Zandt or Broken Social Scene (to name a few).
Noller as a songwriter makes movies of his choosing from dramas to rom coms and everything in between, from cosmopolitan fare to westerns. Skittish trade off lead vocal duties, either male or female in the best possible way giving different songs different perceived perspectives. Let's just say that the stunning piano ballad "Come Around" is 180 degrees from a track like "Mannequin" and this ratcheted compass diversity of "Midwest Handshake" is truly surprising (truly wtf moments in the best possible way).
Speaking of "Mannequin", after the sort of mirage of sounds, during the sung intro, (at 23 seconds in) the song opens up in a bright chunky way, I actually flashed in my rattled brain on 90's rock, on the all inclusive pop-esque rock subversive sunshine of bands like Everclear or Screaming Trees. Noller injects sing-a-long moments "no one's watching" and the track in total is perfect for house parties and more.
Of the track, Noller shares:
[This song was written after 2 years of dating in the Los Angeles scene. Mostly detailing bright and interesting people that become very performative, almost presenting a different personality, when the camera comes out. The influencer population is high in LA, and it gets old being an "Instagram Boyfriend."]
This review of "Mannequin" ended up being more of an album scan or overview. If you want to discover a band, a songwriter who expresses his art in many ways that are all great then check out Skittish and dip into their discography after you listen from top to bottom to their latest album, "Midwest Handshake". I don't think you will be disappointed.
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://www.facebook.com/skittishmusic
https://twitter.com/iamskittish
https://www.youtube.com/skittishmusic
https://skittish.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/skittishmusic/
The new album, Midwest Handshake, was released August 25th, 2023.
Though currently based in Los Angeles, the roots of Skittish have always been Minnesotan. Midwest Handshake was written by Jeff Noller over a two-month visit back home, temporarily trading the land of Teslas and tents for 10,000 lakes.
The songs are framed in various mid-20th Century musical styles that would be at home in the Grand Ol’ Opry in 1960. Especially if they were played by 1980’s emo punks just handed orchestral instruments.
Modern topics like entrenched politics, media obsession, dating and being catfished, are given a retro veneer, implying we still have the same concerns and desires as we once did, just a different vocabulary.
Noller is supported by additional lead vocals from Gracie Huffman (Lighthearted) as well as string and brass orchestration provided by Chris Lahn. Drummer Brian Griffin (Lana Del Rey, Dolly Parton) lends his talents to 3 songs, as Jeremy Krueth and Mark O’Day round out the rest of the percussion. Stand up bass and Cello are prominently featured on the album, and are played masterfully by Stephen Murray and Jacqueline Ultan, respectively. Additional mixing and production help was provided by Ben Etter (Deerhunter, Kaiser Chiefs) whose analogue wonderland provided just the right amount of muscle-shoals-esque grit to the mix.
This is the 7th full-length album released by Skittish. Existing somewhere in the friction caused by our idealized version of home rubbing against reality. The lush instrumentation evokes a fuzzy black and white sitcom, while vocal barbs remind the listener of the task at hand.
They say you can’t go home again, but Midwest Handshake invites you to visit any time.
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