Thin Skies, Bootblacks' first album for Artoffact
Records, zooms forward where previous album Fragments left off. The nine songs
combine a driving, dancefloor pulse with soulful, melodic post-punk, yielding
results that are positively anthemic. Produced by Jason Corbett of Artoffact
label mates ACTORS, Thin Skies evokes scenes of dark days and reckless nights
in the urban jungle – a marriage of post-punk emotion and club land sweat.
Frontman Panther Almqvist's brooding voice captivates as it veers from detached
cool to deep vulnerability. Guitarist Alli Gorman's hard jangle "channels
the trademark delay techniques of [U2's] The Edge," in the words of
Post-Punk. Keyboardist Barrett Hiatt's arpeggiated synths are the life force
pushing the songs relentlessly forward, as Larry Gorman bashes a mix of
acoustic and electronic drums with power and perfection. Backing vocals come
courtesy of Shannon Hemmett (ACTORS) and Kennedy Ashlyn (SRSQ, Them Are Us
Too).
Bootblacks' hometown of New York City is integral to Thin
Skies' sound. The band's name itself is said to be derived from novelist William
Burroughs’ description of the dark underbelly of glitzy NYC. Almqvist states:
"It's an energetic city and people have all the reasons in the world not
to give you the time of day. I think our music has been shaped by that in many
ways." Since the band’s formation in 2012, Bootblacks has stomped on to
become an interesting blend of genres that can be enjoyed by fans of synthpop,
post-punk, goth/rock, and a plethora of others. Now, with three albums and a
handful of EPs and singles behind them, Thin Skies helps present a matured
Bootblacks; a musical force that’s been able to refine its formula into a
smoky, dark blend that’s set to become the soundtrack to many memories and life
events for anyone with the fortune to tune in. Thin Skies is a lovingly crafted
assemblage of hit songs as each track seems catchier than the last. Corbett
demonstrated a penchant for producing great songs and melodies with ACTORS’
debut album; with his influence added to the Bootblacks brew comes a record
that’s as elegant and addictive as it is refreshing and pleasant. From the
subtle walls of sound that serve as the dark sky backdrop for the crooning
vocals of Panther Almqvist in “The Jealous Star,” to the pulse-pumping tempo of
“Hidden Things,” where the talents of Alli Gorman, Barrett Hiatt, and Larry
Gorman, all blend together to present a beautiful amalgamation of musical
components in harmony, each instrument feels so acutely tuned and in sync that
the album seems to jump out of the speakers. The songs work to build upon the splendour
of the one that precedes it, all before culminating in the thundering echoes of
“Inextinguishable.” Each track manages to retain a feeling of distinctiveness
so that the album consumed as a whole never begins to feel boring. Clocking in
at just over half an hour, the time spent with the album is a pleasant ride
from start to finish that leaves a yearning for more, of which there is as the
back catalogue of Bootblacks releases are also splendid and provide examples of
the band’s maturation into a sonic force that shouldn’t be missed. Thin Skies
is one of the best records released in 2020 – one of the few bright spots in a
dark year.