Skinny Is Green (SIG) the alternative rock trio from Baltimore, MD, featuring founding member and singer Rav Sitaula, and Punit Ojha on bass guitars, are back with a brand new 8-track electro-rock album, entitled “Look In Through Me”. The new album continues to define SIG’s ambition, which in turn gives them a much needed edge in creating a refreshing and unique sound. With all of this content being presented to us on this album, it becomes clear that Skinny Is Green turned up the ambition dial to eleven and was planning to go all out on this new project. They were doing more than just creating another album, they were preparing the audience for an epic showdown that would be regarded as their greatest accomplishment to date.
If anything, “Look In Through Me” holds its own as Skinny Is Green’s best album since their debut. It combines the elements of both the raw guitar sound and the electronic beats which makes their style so powerful. The result is a heavier, crunchier, catchier, and more unique sounding record.
Practically every aspect of Skinny Is Green’s musicianship, from the clean cut production, the visceral electric guitars, to the vocal performances, has improved greatly. The opening track “Let It Go” is quite possibly the best example as all of these improvements are put into focus straight off the cuff. What arises are memorable guitar riffs, infectious choruses, and atmospheric synths to provide the song’s crushing power and melody.
In the meantime, songs like ‘Sixteen’ and ‘Thrill Ride’ offers the record’s upbeat side using club and dub beats and intense keys, while ‘Gone’, ‘Killing Me Softly’ and ‘A Feeling of Contentment’ delivers the album’s radio-radio melodic side, which in turn gives a much needed break in the record’s overall pace.
The heavier moments of ‘Home’ uses the album’s electric guitars and growling synths to help create more of an alternative edge. All round, the soaring melodies and rich harmonies give the tracks added dynamism and a sense of urgency.
However, what ultimately sells “Look In Through Me” is the amount of variety that is represented in each and every track. Most, if not all of the songs are practically their own character, as no two songs sound the same throughout the entire record.
Even the instrumental factions help give the album substance and develop the record’s atmosphere while carrying the concept at the same time. My favorite tracks has to be the electro-rock opener “Let It Go”, with its brilliant start stop rhythms and the intense wide-ranging vocals from Rav Sitaula – probably his best performance to date. And then “A Feeling of Contentment”, which exults the organic sounds this band is able to produce, not least the stunning guitar timbres and solo work.
Thanks to Rav Sitaula fantastic vocal performances and the project’s overall technical skills in the studio, this album succeeds in becoming the best Skinny Is Green record since their debut, and will certainly satisfy their fan-base.
The record delivers one of the more unique and refreshing experiences of the electro-rock genre this year, and it also raises the question: what exactly will Skinny Is Green do next. Skinny Is Green is genuinely one of the better electro-rock bands left on the planet, in a genre whose exponents are becoming rare merchandise indeed.
SIG’s brilliance for molding sound, producing art, and their ultimate mastery of musical crafting. Putting it all out on the table, “Look In Through Me” is easily the most ingenuitive underground electro-rock record of the year so far. Considering that the album was totally crowdfunded and entirely recorded and produced by the band, makes this a considerable feat indeed.
