Girl Skin – Shade Is On The Other Side
Jullian Records – 17 April 2020
Girl Skin prefers that their debut album, Shade Is On The Other Side, be considered ‘lemon-pop.’ Not that Sid Simons is afraid of being considered folkie. It’s just that he’s tired of being put in a particular box, “a lot of people were trying to say, like, ‘Oh, you guys are folk music. Oh, you guys are rock and roll.’ I just wanted to come up with a term that kind of just said, ‘No.’ It’s like, ‘What are you?’ and we’re like, ‘Well, lemon-pop.’”
Regardless of categories, Shade Is On The Other Side stands as an amazingly self-assured debut for an album recorded at home in Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy neighbourhood. Opening on the violin of Ruby Wang quickly followed by Simons on acoustic guitar, the sound of Forever & Always merges melancholy with matters more meaningful, “Love is lost and love found, it’s right there just flip around.” The song rocks out before shrinking back to a chorus of voices, then finally just Simons.
Layering instruments and vocals, songs become closet symphonies with a sense of complexity akin to one of Simon’s childhood favourite bands, the Beatles. Bite Real Hard moves forward with a chorus of vocals, even at the song’s end, when things are stripped back, there are still multiple Sids singing. In contrast, The Path seems relatively barren with a single acoustic guitar as the song opens. The introduction of violin leads the song toward a more layered, yet relatively simple production.
Shade Is On The Other Side uses an incredible array of dynamics to create a sense of proportion. The entrance of the bass drum on You’re A Freak takes the song from a simple, little tune into areas that would have seemed unimaginable moments before, finally playing out with masterful violin, guitar and vocals. Similarly, the drums of Holy Fool create an outside framework for what would otherwise be a simple, little song.
Opening with a violin that wouldn’t be out of place on Eleanor Rigby, She Said builds in intensity over the course of three minutes before paring back to an acoustic guitar then begins to recreate the previous grandeur as the vocal refrain, “It’ll be alright” provides a comforting ending.
Creating outsized sonic landscapes, Girl Skin illustrates an uncanny ability to evoke the grandeur in everyday relationships. Shade Is On The Other Side leaves listeners in awe of Sid Simons’ ability to concoct symphonic folk music. His homemade masterpieces suggest he deserves a full studio to craft his next album.
Pre-order: https://orcd.co/shadepre