I must sheepishly confess: I’ve read a fair amount of articles during the past several years about Skin Yard, but until now, I’ve never actually heard them. ‘Tis a pity, too, ‘cause Skin Yard effervescently radiate a mind-swirling array of goth-tinged ‘80s-style auditory atmospherics that’s awe-inspiring, incandescent, and otherworldly. But it’s also funky, psychedelic, and slightly industrialized! I’m unbelievably hearing a widely varying range of musical madness that sonically conjures rapid metamorphic images of PIL, The Cure, Siouxsie & The Banshees, David Bowie, Black Sabbath, Butthole Surfers, The Smiths, Talking Heads, Jane’s Addiction, Ministry, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Monster Magnet, Nine Inch Nails, Cream, Helios Creed, and Bad Brains… whew! By the way, for those of you who are the slightest bit interested, this particular disc is a “collection of singles, rarities + outtakes,” and it contains a clenched fistful of outlandish originals and three cacophonously creative covers (The Damned’s “Machine Gun Etiquette,” Ace Frehley’s “Snowblind,” and The Beatles’ “Bulldog”). I now sit here steadily shakin’ my head in utter disbelief. This is beyond amazing ten times over and then some! I’m unabashedly hooked.
–Roger Moser Jr. (C/Z)