Skyward are originally
a product of the Harrisonburg, Virginia area and the five members initially met
during their shared time at James Madison University. The band is based out of
the Charlottesville, Virginia now and has played in the neighborhood of five
hundred shows since they began active gigging. The next logical step in their
path to notoriety, a full length album release, finds the band turning in an
eleven song collection full of melody, compelling synth sounds, and bombastic,
but never nonsensical, guitar. The lyrical content is, likewise, top notch and
brings an additional level of quality to the release. Superb production is the
sonic icing on the cake – the eleven songs on their debut are presented in the
best possible way with clarity and balance an apparent principle in the final
mix.
It opens with two interlinked tracks. “Daily” and
“Casualty” are works dealing with serious themes, but Skyward presents their
lyrical narratives surrounded by a vast canopy of sound that sets the mood as
intensely dramatic, but ultimately triumphant. The speakers in Skyward’s songs
take their share of lumps from life roughhousing them, but no one is ever
completely defeated. Jordan Breeding’s guitar work often sounds like he is
wrestling with his guitar neck, trying to wring out new sounds and tones that
match the intensity around him, and invariably succeeds. “Animal” is much more
stripped back when compared to the rest of the album and has a low- gritty
menace not readily connected to the other material. Breeding’s guitar is much
more restrained and concentrates intently on strengthening the song’s rhythmic
spine. “Stand-Ins” is another memorable moment thanks to the rolling riff and
strong groove propelling it forward. Groove based are at a preminum on this
release, but the band shows a strong penchant for them when they so indulge
themselves.
Much more of the heavy-lidded menace heard in
“Animal” finds its way into the later song “Burn”. Skyward are talented enough
as songwriters that they can invoke mood with only a few notes and this track
is, arguably, one of the album’s premier expressions of that skill. Anna
Breeding’s contributions as a second, largely backing, vocalist are critical
for the balance they provide. The musical intensity continues to climb with the
album’s seventh track “Now”, a wide-eyed passionate workout that never really
relents from the first note on. There is much of the light and shade dynamic
heard in earlier rock cuts, but Skyward can never quite resist the temptation
to pepper the track with a number of subtleties contributing to the overall
whole. “Crows and Wolves” utilizes a smattering of natural imagery previously
unheard on the album to darken another much more meditative outing for the
band. This isn’t an outfit who needs to overwhelm listeners sonically in order
to establish mood. Instead, “Crows and Wolves” achieves its effects through the
marriage of music alongside Huang and Breeding’s different, yet equally
magnificent, voices. This is a debut album of many different colors, sounds, and
emotions. Skyward takes listeners on a highly imaginative and often deeply
personal journey that helps the release stand out as one of the year’s finest
efforts.
9 out of 10 stars.
Joshua Stryde
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