| A trooper, a vagabond, a minstrel and an artist - over the course of fifteen years and eight full-length albums as the lead singer/songwriter for Chicago’s Alkaline Trio, Matt Skiba has been all of these things. Touring the world, heart on sleeve, Skiba has consistently penned some of the great dark pop anthems of the past decade. For both major labels and indies, whether it be acoustic ballads or antagonistic anthems, Skiba is an icon of the outsider and he has remained a singular voice of a sub-genre he helped to create. Now, after so many years as part of the band that has come to define him, Skiba has stepped out from the Trio to create 'Babylon,' the debut album from Matt Skiba and the Sekrets. 'Babylon' doesn't mark a major sonic departure from the infectiously catchy, sanguine-stained tunesmanship Skiba is known for. The songs are still cleverly-crafted and instantly memorable, but the details of the tracks on 'Babylon' are what separate this album from all of his previous output. His independence from the confines of a group dynamic allow the songs to take flight, subtleties intact, and elevate the music from mere songs to exquisite songcraft. Of his unfettered creativity, Skiba explains, "Working as part of a group is great, but it’s a democracy. You hear something in your head and play it, then the other guys comment and you compromise. That’s what being in a band is about. I wanted to create that music in my head – not a dissected and altered version of it.” And the "Sekrets" are none other than AFI’s Hunter Burgan on bass and My Chemical Romance’s Jarrod Alexander on drums. (2012) |