Canadian singer/songwriter Chad VanGaalen’s second LP Skelliconnection, which includes two trippy animated music videos, is not a giant step forward from his previous disc Infiniheart, but he obviously has a few more tools to work with this time around. The material might be a bit more edgy, but plenty of his signature melancholy tunes were left in the mix this time around, as well.
Just to show that he does desire to take some steps outside of his box, VanGaalen loads the more challenging tracks at the front of the album. “Flower Garden”, which also has a video included, uses a new wavy stutter effect. It’s fun the first couple of times, but it wears on you by the end of the track. “Burn 2 Ash” does better. It has a hyper buzz that sails the song right through every beach era from Gidget and Moondoggie’s beach bum days, to the Beach Boys surforama to the paranoia that runs through kids smoking what they shouldn’t under the boardwalks of today.
For those who like their Chad soft and sweet, your anthem will be “Sing Me 2 Sleep”. It’s all about rainy days and loneliness and is sure to score high with fans of the first disc.
The Calgary boy does know how to shake off his dark mood though. Just give a listen to the front porch hootenanny song “Wind Driving Dogs”. Nothing will get your toe tapping like this throwback to the 1970s when bands like The Eagles were seriously blurring the linebetween their own genre and down home country music. Everyone is giving this style a whirl these days and VanGaalen gives a better than average salute with his tune – even if the fit doesn’t feel completely natural.
Chad VanGaalen’s second disc is a bit of mixed bag, but if you like hearing an artist try out a whole bunch of different styles, than you’ll definitely want to pick up Skelliconnection. |