slice of lime

The album is playfully scary like a cartoon skeleton popping out behind a shadow. ‘National Rust’ is a base-forward groovy intro song that I will hear in my mind every time I play pinball, the bouncing brightness is fitting. The album is fresh and quirky while playing with some heavier compression but never losing that catchy melody. ‘My Star Sign is A Bassett Hound’ is a song that plays in the intro to a hyper wave 90s video game loading screen, a song you hear distantly from the lit-up television playing Adult Swim late at night. The background vocals keep it lighthearted while the bass and guitar are so fuzzed out and crunchy; a dark wizard sound to the song.

‘Sugar Sandwich’ has some 80s metal hints at its beginning, the guitar and melody feeling very similar to a Judas Priest riff. It ultimately seems like a modern take on the same exuberance used to create thrash metal, with the addition of elements from alt-rock and more recent indie artists. The fusion of these heavier elements and more frivolous genres creates a sound that is intense but catchy; I will be humming along to the “sugar, sugar, sugaaaar” all week long. It is akin to the nostalgic horror in Five Nights at Freddy. ‘The Drowning Bell’ stands out as a moment of tension in the album, with the synth in the background against the bass matching the mood of the album cover. The blitzed-out guitar (I’m hesitant to say solo for the nature of this part of the song) is my favorite part of the album. Skinwalker creates songs that are both part vernal and unsettling. The beginning of the album leans into the vaporware playfulness, while the back half contains more hints of metal that sell that break from sanity hinted at. I just know the Grim Reaper from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy would love this album.

Tracklist

Intro
National Rust (7/10)
Chew (7/10)
My Star Sign Is A Bassett Hound (6/10)
Sugar Sandwich (7/10)
The Drowning Bell (8/10) ★
Leatherbound (7/10)
In My Egg (6/10)
Therapy (6/10)
Human Compression (7/10)
Night of The Skinwalker (6/10)
★ – favorites

You’ll like this album if you like:

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, 80s thrash metal, pinball, The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, sour candies, and noise rock