SKIES

‘Leave Me’ is the sound of a band that wants to be heard.

A track that’s full of constant peaks, verses and pre-choruses and choruses all compete for ascendancy.  And yet rather than confusedly, it all comes together with assurance.  Marrying sumptuous synths, militaristic drums and razor-like guitar lines, SKIES perfectly embody what a generation raised on electronic music is looking for in a rock band today.

But the greatest quality of SKIES is that they somehow manage to sound both big and intimate at the same time.  Alie Cotter’s personal turmoil is blown up onto an arena-sized screen in ‘Leave Me’ and yet fails to lose its sense of sincerity.  In fact, Alie can sound aching and resolute, sometimes both at once; it’s that emotion that soars well above the mountainous build of verses, pre-choruses and choruses.

Ultimately, SKIES want to be heard in 2016, and on the evidence of ‘Leave Me,’ it’s safe to presume few will not have heard of their name by the end of the year.

Words by Chris Haywood

Tipped by Simon Pursehouse from Sentric Music