Posted by Ian Skelly doesn’t let his guard down often.
As a songwriter, he doesn’t stray towards the introspective, prefer to use his music as a vessel for positivity.
Every so often, however, he can’t avoid it, and it results in some strikingly effective work.
New album ‘Drifters Skyline’ is out on July 31st, and it finds the Liverpool musician playfully experimenting with his sound.
Working with old friends and new collaborator, it’s led by neat new song ‘Jokerman’, and it’s wistful tale of reflection.
Pulling the walls down a little, Ian Skelly drifts into poignancy amid a kind of country-tinged psychedelic brew.
Acid Americana distilled by the banks of the Mersey, ‘Jokerman’ cheekily half-inches its title from a Dylan song, too.
He says: “To me, pouring your sad heart out on a song is self-indulgent. When I am feeling down, I just put on T-Rex really loud and escape. I couldn’t write any sad songs when I was working on ‘Drifters Skyline’, it just had to be upbeat. Friends and family really liked ‘Jokerman’ from the start, so it seemed a good vibe. Then, when we recorded it, the entire process turned out to be great fun. It felt exciting. What should have been work in the studio turned out to be a jolly.”
Tune in now.