Chad VanGaalen- <i>Skelliconnection</i>

Skelliconnection is a window into Chad VanGaalen’s weird and wonderful world of Viking rainbows, pterodactyls and headless corpses, a bit skewed and alien, but always fascinating. Recorded almost entirely alone in his Calgary basement, VanGaalen’s second album delves deep into his inner space, sounding far removed from any trend, movement or outside influence, instead existing on a plain all of its own. With VanGaalen bouncing from one idea to another, the songs take a variety of sonic shapes and sizes throughout the album. At times, they come as synth-lathered pop like "Red Hot Drops”; at others, they’re restless folk offerings such as "Sing Me to Sleep” and "Graveyard.” Periodically, they even enter full-on rock territory, like with "Flower Gardens,” and explode into rampage of fuzz, wails and fretboard chaos. But always at the heart of these assorted sounds is VanGaalen’s surreal take on the world, which he expresses through his broken voice and surreal lyrical imagery. In his tales of lonesome brains, animated skeletons and love-hungry ghosts, you can easily lose your head for a while and see the world as he sees it. Chad VanGaalen is a true musical oddity, and this is a stunning testament.