Three years on from releasing the Mid Cent Mod EP, US band Son of Skooshny returns with its successor Confection and another collection of melodic rock/pop tracks simply warranting attention. Admittedly, three of the songs making up the encounter were released as singles along the way but it is as part of Confection that they really blossom, each adding a magnetic aspect to its engaging whole.
Son of Skooshny is the creation of vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Mark Breyer, a project evolving out of acclaimed seventies band Skooshny who despite eventually breaking up found their releases still becoming collector items around Europe. Reforming in the nineties, they soon released a new EP with an album and compilation following, the latter in 2004. Six years later Son of Skooshny stepped forward, Breyer uniting with producer/collaborator Steve Refling, before unveiling debut album Lovers Leap of Faith. Its magnetic melodic pop sound further evolved within the 2013 Mid Cent Mod EP, a mellower blossom of imagination with a country/folk rock twist now pushed on again, while embracing the band’s pop instincts, by Confection.
The EP opens with Just a Test, a track swiftly seducing ears and attention with its tangy melodies and gently nagging stride. Equally a sixties pop air nuzzles song and imagination as Breyer’s expressive tones and suggestive melodies spread through the heart and body of the richly enticing encounter. As catchy as it is sultry, the song continues to coax body and appetite, its sound not a major leap from the last EP but richer in the weave of flavours and seductive prowess it bears.
That mentioned country scent spices the following No Ho, a slower gaited song which saunters with creative confidence as suggestive keys wrap Breyer’s words and the sonic romancing of the guitars. A melodic shimmer also lines the song replacing the snappier touch of its predecessor with its alluring presence and though it does not quite spark the appetite as forcibly, the track grows into a similarly potent proposal over time.
A similar design of flavours and textures shape the melodic caress of Cloud Cover straight after, a soft slice of catchy mellow pop deceptively low key as tempting harmonies cuddle and melodies conjure. Within this tranquil serenading though, an orchestral scented theatre rises within the song’s multi-layered landscape which only draws the imagination deeper into its beauty.
Half of the World is next, a melodic rock ‘n’ pop croon with its own adventure in catchiness draped in sixties inspired melodic flames and vocal smooching, before The Subtle Eye closes up the release with its smouldering country twanged caress. Both tracks have a XTC Oranges & Lemons / Elvis Costello Almost Blue like fusion to them, a flavouring adding to the sixties and melodic pop invention Son of Skooshny persistently show themselves so adept at casting.
Released earlier this year on Bandcamp but now being given a broad release through CD Baby on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, and other stores by the band itself, Confection is a warm melodic snug with Son of Skooshny deserving of greater attention.
The Confection EP is out now across most stores and @ https://sonofskooshny.bandcamp.com/album/confection
Pete RingMaster 13/12/2016
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