For some reason or another, ex-straight edge dudes in my home town of Bensalem, PA looooved Rollerskate Skinny. After I heard them, I completely understood why. The Dublin-based band was able to fuse everything that was great about My Bloody Valentine, David Bowie and Echo and the Bunneymen into a spooky and extremely smart psychedelic sound.

Their 1994 opus, Shoulder Voices is a pulverizing tale of a man who slowly loses his mind. The music is at times brutal, but can also be very fragile. The ghostly vocal harmonies and chanting between lead vocalist Ken Griffin and drummer/vocalist Jimi Shields are beautiful in their simplicity.

Another thing that makes this album so special is the sound production. It’s not that the recording is pristine or even what one would typically consider to be “high quality,” but that is the point. Guy Fixen and the band use natural, and fabricated, textures as devices for enhancing the album’s concept. The music is so deeply layered, I swear I hear new sounds with every subsequent listen. Then again, maybe I am losing my mind…

Shoulder Voices is out of print, but I did find the album on Napster for $9.95. Haha, Napster, how 90’s of me.

Also, if you are already a fan, I found a kick ass Shoulder Voices poster over at eBay for just 3.99!

Rollerskate Skinny – Violence to Violence

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Rollerskate Skinny – Bella

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