Skegss
Top Heavy
LOMA VISTA
In the calm either before or after the storm, Skegss take an introspective pause to bob on top of their typically crashing surf-rock melodies with Top Heavy. The new EP feels candid and anthological, like a black-and-white photograph of the Australian band in respite amid all the jangly sounds and carnivorous touring. While big riffs and relentless energy have long been fundamental to Skegss, large parts of this release feel more introspective than explosive, as if the duo of Ben Reed and Jonny Lani are sitting on the hotel balcony watching the swell move, fighting the urge to hop up and surf it.
Kicking off with “State of Hawaii,” the EP positions their loose garage-rock stance deep in acoustic-blues dunes while introducing trumpet to their cabinet of instruments. On “Ain’t for the Faint,” a song pointing to the importance of staying current (as well as in the current), Reed strums a remarkably catchy melody while reflecting on the pros and cons of maintaining relevance (“If you’re gonna stop, you better not start”). “I’m Not Lost” marks their return to Aussie post-punk country, inviting our heads to replicate the movement of the air freshener that swings roughly underneath a Jeep’s rearview mirror while traversing the tropical backcountry.
That particular track takes influence from Vundabar in its vocals, thundering percussion, and reflexive structure, while “Blood in the Sky” takes a dive into Allah-Las or even Rolling Stones territory, fusing the depth of Western guitar tones and sultry piano to embolden a modern elegy of battling relationship woes. Highlighting a turn in their personal and musical discovery, closer “Old Maid Meg” is a reflection on taking flight from relational disagreements, marked by a distanced and echoed chorus of some variation on “I’m in a world of my own.”
Clashing with fans’ expectations of the rowdy Australian stereotype they’ve previously embraced, Skegss take a dive into an older, deeper sound with Top Heavy, and the result is a band more refined, positioned stronger as musicians and storytellers. Richer and more vulnerable than we’ve ever heard them, Skegss take us through their cross-country sunset journey of personal growth with a whole and balanced album. I am, and will always be, in distinct awe of the band’s simultaneous evocation of and emancipation from the rock sounds that previously defined them.
Where Skegss have fallen in the past has been on carefree surfer mode, lost in reverie from all the wave exhaustion, but this EP seems more like a replication of their innermost struggles with relationships. It feels like a white flag, like an arm held out in resistance to everything else they’ve done to date.
