The Skeptic - Powerpop, Alt, Hardcore - Detroit, MI
“I was born in the Midwest / A small town in Michigan”. First lines can, for better or for worse, often make or break a band for new fans, venues and even labels. We all know that if those introductory lyrics fall flat, for whatever reason, you might as well kiss your chances goodbye until the next recordings surface and correct that wrong. The Skeptic, an alternative hardcore outfit currently blooming in (you guessed it) Michigan, was expectedly well-aware of the weight of such first impressions, and they made damn sure they did it right on their newest EP, “The Fire Next Time”, which is about as dressed up as you can imagine.
Right out of the gate, listeners are immediately aligned with criminally undiscovered vocal virtuoso Andrew Paulo as he reminisces of growing up, painting for us those seemingly never-ending summers, which are forever fossilized in his memory. To say it’s a strong opening is a vast understatement, as The Skeptic musicians proceed to launch themselves directly into the rest of “Summer Nights”, a colossal opening track boasting the band’s technical fluency in combining alternative and hardcore influences.
The EP is extremely impressive overall. The guitars are extremely strong throughout, sometimes offering up beautiful textured chords in anthemic choruses (exemplified in “Sellout”), and other times slinging complex harmonies across the sonic spectrum (as portrayed in “Burn”). There is a widescreen ambiance to the 6-strings in closer, “Scream”, as a massive solo overtakes Paulo’s amazing performance just at the heaviest moment of impact. New, innovative sounds emerge in “Summer Nights”, as delicate melodies dance over a quaking breakdown as the conclusion draws near.
Instrumentally, as you can imagine, The Skeptic is definitely about as good as it gets, but somehow, Paulo still manages to steal the show, track after track on “The Fire Next Time”. It’s not that Paulo is significantly better than his bandmates—there isn’t a weak link at all, actually—but rather, his musical brothers have built the perfect amplified foundation on which his impossibly ranging voice can command and engage. It’s rare to hear such a powerful, yet beautiful delivery leading an unsigned, mostly independent act, but The Skeptic has come to rise above so many of their peers with Paulo’s talent, and the groups collective skills as a whole. The producers and album engineers deserves an equal nod, as they have mixed and mastered with the time and attention that such a band deserves, particularly excelling with the vocals. The spaciousness of “Scream” gives Paulo’s cords enough room to truly shine, and will, without a doubt, send chills up your spine time and time again.
I often feel that many of the bands I review deserve far more attention than that which is doled out to them, and The Skeptic is about as far from an exception as one can imagine. This is a band that not only knows how to write interesting songs that are both heavy and catchy, but also has an exceedingly talented, engaging frontman who can wrap up the whole package into something as presentable as a first date tuxedo. To sleep on these small town Michigan boys (who are now tearing it up in metropolitan Detroit) would easily be your biggest mistake to date. There’s a fire right now, and there will, indeed, be an even bigger one next time—so why look away?
Listen to "The Fire Next Time" Here:
http://theskeptic.bandcamp.com/album/the-fire-next-time
Buy the EP on iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-fire-next-time-ep/id793728104
Check out the Official Music Video for "Burn"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d22hJOcEkMo
Support on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/theskepticmi
By: Max Puhala
Right out of the gate, listeners are immediately aligned with criminally undiscovered vocal virtuoso Andrew Paulo as he reminisces of growing up, painting for us those seemingly never-ending summers, which are forever fossilized in his memory. To say it’s a strong opening is a vast understatement, as The Skeptic musicians proceed to launch themselves directly into the rest of “Summer Nights”, a colossal opening track boasting the band’s technical fluency in combining alternative and hardcore influences.
The EP is extremely impressive overall. The guitars are extremely strong throughout, sometimes offering up beautiful textured chords in anthemic choruses (exemplified in “Sellout”), and other times slinging complex harmonies across the sonic spectrum (as portrayed in “Burn”). There is a widescreen ambiance to the 6-strings in closer, “Scream”, as a massive solo overtakes Paulo’s amazing performance just at the heaviest moment of impact. New, innovative sounds emerge in “Summer Nights”, as delicate melodies dance over a quaking breakdown as the conclusion draws near.
Instrumentally, as you can imagine, The Skeptic is definitely about as good as it gets, but somehow, Paulo still manages to steal the show, track after track on “The Fire Next Time”. It’s not that Paulo is significantly better than his bandmates—there isn’t a weak link at all, actually—but rather, his musical brothers have built the perfect amplified foundation on which his impossibly ranging voice can command and engage. It’s rare to hear such a powerful, yet beautiful delivery leading an unsigned, mostly independent act, but The Skeptic has come to rise above so many of their peers with Paulo’s talent, and the groups collective skills as a whole. The producers and album engineers deserves an equal nod, as they have mixed and mastered with the time and attention that such a band deserves, particularly excelling with the vocals. The spaciousness of “Scream” gives Paulo’s cords enough room to truly shine, and will, without a doubt, send chills up your spine time and time again.
I often feel that many of the bands I review deserve far more attention than that which is doled out to them, and The Skeptic is about as far from an exception as one can imagine. This is a band that not only knows how to write interesting songs that are both heavy and catchy, but also has an exceedingly talented, engaging frontman who can wrap up the whole package into something as presentable as a first date tuxedo. To sleep on these small town Michigan boys (who are now tearing it up in metropolitan Detroit) would easily be your biggest mistake to date. There’s a fire right now, and there will, indeed, be an even bigger one next time—so why look away?
Listen to "The Fire Next Time" Here:
http://theskeptic.bandcamp.com/album/the-fire-next-time
Buy the EP on iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-fire-next-time-ep/id793728104
Check out the Official Music Video for "Burn"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d22hJOcEkMo
Support on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/theskepticmi
By: Max Puhala