SKIBUNNY - Hugs CD

Making the complex seem simple in music, takes skill – making the simple into infinitely enjoyable is an artform – combining all of this into a thing of exquisite beauty and excellence takes......well.... Skibunny, actually.
The album kicks off with the breathtaking “Aah Ooh”, whereby over the sparest of drum machine rhythms and beats, an acoustic guitar thwacks out the rhythmic undercurrent and a far distant ocean of textural bliss ushers in the extra wham of bass while cruising above all this are the most gorgeous, most heavenly, most achingly heartfelt multi-tracked female vocals that you'll hear, delivering this soaring, soothing, cosmic cloud of verses that lead into the hook chorus which send shivers up your spine every time you hear it and the sort of thing that make grown men weak at the knees. In many ways it's so simple, yet the effect is sublime as that title-hook of wordless splendour is repeated, The song briefly drops into warm, fuzzy mode, before bursting back into the sunlight and running effortlessly to the end on one of the finest album openers you'll hear. This leads into “Up Down” where you're woken up with a start as the phased lead heavenly vocal chorus bursts into life over choppy drums and solid guitar riffing before the guitar drops out to leave breathy multi-tracked female lead vocal to deliver the verse over the choppy bass and drums, only then for the ringing guitar river to return as the vocal phases once more to deliver the uplifting chorus then it's back for another round of sultry female vocals over the choppy drumming and assorted textures, rising once more to the chorus and the whole thing is summery joy on a cloudy day. Briefly, as before, the song changes shape subtly for a middle 8 that then heads back into that superb chorus as the strident guitar sings out the rhythm layer and the beats march on. Overall, it's solid, beautiful and heady – just stunning. From there we move into “Walk, Don't Walk”, introduced by synth swoops and distant multi-tracked, lightly echoed female vocals before the electronic drumbeats crunch in, sequencer bass and deep bass provide the foundations as the guitars appear to join the undercurrent and the female vocals deliver the verses with that wide-eyed sea of joy which characterises the female vocals throughout this album. This time the brooding vocals turn into more urgent vocals as the verses progress before sailing upwards and taking off on yet another absolute gem of a chorus which, as before, not only sticks around in your head, but makes you want to play it over and over again. Yet again, The song takes the brief twist and turn but finally soars upwards with huge feeling into this mighty depth of a chorus as all the instruments drive that chorus to the end.
“Remember Me” is more of a mid-paced ballad with guest male vocal that is also hushed on the verses before doing the same thing as the female vocals before it and climbing to multi-tracked glory on the choruses, this time backed by choppy drum machine, sparkling sequencer synths, strummed acoustic guitar, deep bass and keys, climbing out into the sun on its uplifting chorus, As before, there are loads of layers to the track yet the feel of melodic simplicity is paramount as the band deliver yet another cruising track of great joy. “Sun Sun Sun” starts with more solid drum rhythms as the fast-strummed acoustic guitar backing ushers in lead female vocals that are once again multi-tracked, this time backed by a chorus of more female vocals, as the bass deepens, the pace accelerates and we're into yet another shining sun of a chorus as it all just drives forward on a mix of sultry warmth, brooding depth, strident heart and uplifting passion, as another song that sticks around in your head for ages, daring not to play it over and over, is simply a thing of great strength and beauty.
By now, you've got the flavour of this album and it's absolute truth to say that the following 5 tracks are every bit as brilliant as what you've heard so far, track after glorious track of soaring female vocals delivering stunning verses and magical, uplifting choruses over oceans of melodic, solid, mid-paced rhythms, deep bass, contrasting textures of acoustic guitars, electric guitars, keys, mandolin, electronics and acres of multi-tracked heavenly vocals – all making for the consummate “play anytime, feel great, magnificently uplifting” set of tracks.
That the album ends with “Baby Get Into It”, that the track starts with the chorus, dives into the beauty of the verses, drops back for the wordless hook, backed by another set of slowly driving rhythms and tasty acoustic guitar, ringing electric guitar and deep bass, all leading into this towering gorgeousness of a chorus, means that the album takes your heart as easily at the end as it did at the beginning, as it does all the way through.
In short, it's one total stunner of an album from start to finish and a thing of magic and magnificence.

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