What a nice guy Neville Skelly is: putting his music career on hold for a year to be a hands-on dad to his daughter, who was the primary inspiration behind many of the compositions on his second album, ‘Carousel’. For a change, I’m only being half sarcastic. There’s nothing wrong with a guy devoting his time to his family, and it doesn’t make him a sap. There’s equally nothing wrong with being un-rock ‘n’ roll, especially if you’re a sensitive singer-songwriter type.
Subtle strings waft around on the peripheries of Skelly’s gentle acoustic compositions, while he sings of love, life and all the rest, and he’s not afraid to draw on a broad range of influences. His songs carry hints not only of country and folk, but jazz flavours too. These are quiet songs, thoughtful songs. ‘Silence in the Sand’ is breezy, a jazzy Latin flavour creeping into its mellow yet bittersweet tone, and sits nicely in the middle of an album that’s not only pleasant and easy on the ear, but also rounded and well realised.
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Neville Skelly Online
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