Due to be released this Friday, the 14th of March beloved South African Singer-Songwriter Gaz unveils his debut album ‘My New Skin’. Prepare to be spirited away upon a shimmering wave of scintillating songcraft and evocative lyricism where lilting instrumentation, emotive melodies and rousing vocals meld together with seamless beauty.
Featuring ten invigorating and inspiring tracks, ‘My New Skin’ is an impeccably composed collection of stirring songs that will pull upon your heartstrings and rejuvenate your being. With a sparkling recording courtesy of legendary producer Mark Beling every track that makes up this stellar album glistens with a lustrous sheen.
Opening with the phosphorescent melodies of the previously released ‘Slow Down’ which gained a ton of traction and airplay worldwide, a stunning track that goes from melancholic reverie to strident rhythms and rousing vocals, ‘My New Skin’ begins in a most poignant manner.
Title track ‘My New Skin’ is a glistening slice of self-reflective prose and soulful melodies. Unveiled last year, this incandescent track is driven by vibrant verses and choruses of the most captivating sort.
Track three, the titular ‘Pay To Breathe’ is a shimmying New Wave inspired track that brings to mind The Cure and Echo And The Bunnymen with its jangling guitars, tumbling rhythms and reedy vocals.
‘The Afterlife’ which is due to be released as a single with accompanying music video this Friday is an arresting display of sonic artistry where love, loss and the reconciliation thereof are expressed through a rhapsodic tapestry of choral layering, plodding drums, mellifluous melodies and soaring vocals.
‘Dopamine’ is an electrifying piece of music that is arena ready and poised to dominate stadiums everywhere. ‘She Play Me’ is as catchy as an airborne contagion with vocals reminiscent of the late Scott Weiland, a melancholic lament to manipulative partnerships.
‘Lullaby For The World’ with its vociferous vocals and instrumentation is a boisterous song that surges ahead on a bedrock of solid rhythms, vibrant verses and infectious choruses.
With its Synth-Pop inspired aesthetic and velvety vocals ‘Heaven Calling Me’ will ensnare you in its luminescent embrace as will the cinematic and celestial ‘Into The Light’.
Bringing ‘My New Skin’ to a close is the Electro-Pop meets New Wave rock of ‘Time Junkie’ a simultaneously jubilant yet sorrowful song that further solidifies the amazing songcraft of Gaz.
In conclusion, ‘My New Skin’ is an awe-inspiring collection of heartfelt songs that are cohesive and captivating; a portrait of the human condition at its most fragile where feelings, relationships and self reflection are expressed with nuanced musicianship and executed with aplomb.
-Asher Locketz-