Soft, deeply considered, and even reluctant at times, Sam Skinner’s new album Impression bears in many ways the legacy of art its title invokes. Comprised of 9 original songs, each track is–to quote novelist Ford Madox Ford–“the record of the impression of a moment.” Even if those moments have been reflected upon for months or perhaps years before being pressed into wax. Certainly from a listener’s perspective, Impression is aptly named. The album leaves behind, in the ear and on the mind, something quaint, calm, and sweet.
“I’m naturally not a loud, projecting speaker, and I’m naturally not a loud, projecting vocalist,” Skinner explained when I sat down with him to discuss the project. “I find that my voice sounds and feels the best when it’s kind of subdued.”
Throughout the album, his voice isn’t backgrounded but rather tucked comfortably around other compositions. There’s also a sheepish quality to it, particularly on album opener “Ankle 2” and its twin closer “Ankle.”
In describing both himself and the album, Skinner uses the word “soft-spoken”. This perfectly encapsulates not only the vocals just mentioned but the delicacy of his composition, which is often pared down so as to be better heard. “I need to work around that with the arrangement, which is limiting and liberating,” he went on. “It kind of forces me to be pretty minimal. I can’t cover up mistakes with other stuff.” The mistakes, then, must be either loved or rerecorded.
Much of Skinner’s music evolves from these decisions, especially his remarkable ability to let his songs drag momentarily, only to pick them right back up again. “I love tempo fluctuations. You know, I welcome it. Especially when they’re coming from an emotional place.” It gives a sort of slingshot effect to the listener, not unlike the moment right before a bass drop. Only in this context, we’re talking about slow-moving indie and the drop is–as Skinner points out–into emotion.
Growing up in Montclair, NJ with a composer and producer for a father, there wasn’t a point in Skinner’s life where he couldn’t be described as a musician of some sort. “I grew up in a musical family. I was always encouraged to play music. You know, I was signed up for piano lessons against my will at a young age, which I didn’t like at the time, but now of course, I’m grateful for.” Continuing, “[my dad] had a home studio and kind of my zone was right next to his studio. So I was really close to it. When I was like nine years old, my dad gave me my first Shure SM 57 microphone, which is kind of like the go-to, cheap, kind of throw-it-around mic. And I was making really insane, bizarre music on GarageBand. You know, like a nine-year-old would. Funny enough, I’ve gone back to those and been like, ‘oh, I see some, like parallels here with my own with my current music.’ I guess some things don’t change.”
He went on to study songwriting and recording at SUNY Purchase, where he found himself in a program more songwriting-oriented than he had expected. The idea of writing music was not so foreign to him, but the emphasis on lyrics and singing was. “I was kind of forced to start writing my own songs and singing them, or else I would, you know, not pass my classes. After the hump of writing a bunch of songs that I thought were pretty terrible, I started to write stuff that was kind of working. And I was happy enough to publish it.” The first batch of these songs went on to become his 2017 EP Danny Through Junior.
But most of Skinner’s career has been occupied by touring, recording, and mixing, often for Pinegrove, of which he is a member. All of that work has come back to help him in the studio. “Working on other people’s sounds and crafting other people’s sounds along with them, has given me a lot of insight on how to do that for myself,” he said. His mixing and solo recording work heavily apprise one another. “It’s such an emotional experience recording. I think it’s so important to be behind a microphone yourself in order to help someone behind the microphone.” The flipside of that coin is that songwriting has not been the main focus. “If I write a song every couple months,” he said, “that’s great,” but that is not a priority. As a result, Impression is the product of his songwriting from the past 4-plus years. “It was very piecemeal, and it was done over a long stretch of time.” Opening track “Ankle 2” was from even before that.
Over a slowly rocking guitar, Skinner sings, “there was a moment last night when I/fell over and broke my ankle.” The simple, trim lyrics accompany his singing and playing beautifully, forming an emotive and expressive piece that makes so much out of precious little. He paints, in every aspect of the song, a textured world of “grays and blues.” “Ankle 2” is also an interesting track because it is almost exactly repeated as the last track, “Ankle.” The chords and tone are slightly different, but the lyrics and melodies are the same. Skinner explained it in a few words: “repetition is powerful,” and in considering its effects on the album, I happen to agree.
As it relates to lyrics, they’re something that Skinner, whose comfort in music cannot be emphasized enough, still struggles with. “When I express something with melody and, and chords and harmony, I then have a hard time assigning that to something in my life or, or outside of my life that I think I could write about in a way that matches the mood of the music that already exists, that I’m already attached to.” But in spite of his concerns, Impression’s lyrics meld beautifully into the songs. Both are pared down, preferring to settle impressionistically on the reader than have their value drawn-out laboriously.
Impression is a remarkable album, thoughtfully coherent and mature. Skinner’s years of work behind the board, bass, and more have given him a deep understanding of what goes into an album. He has done well to apply that knowledge to his own music. He weaves from his voice, finger-picked guitar, banjo, bass, and occasional percussion a warmth hardly rivaled. In a moment when we are all confined to the interiors of our homes, on the inside looking out, Skinner’s album offers us a wonderfully complementary soundtrack rife with captivating melodies, harmonies, and lyrics.
Sam Skinner’s new album Impressions is available on all music streaming platforms Apple Music, Tidal, Spotify. To purchase your copy, head over to Bandcamp.
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