David Gray named his twelfth album after the Skellig islands that lie southwest of Ireland. Here monks lived isolated from the rest of the world. Gray found the idea of the way of life of these monks perfectly suited to the times of self-isolation during the corona pandemic. He translates that concept into predominantly sombre songs with a sparse production in a classic singer-songwriter style. In
… that sense, he breaks with the music of predecessor Gold In A Brass Age (2019), where Gray just gave a modern update to that typical singer-songwriter sound. Still, some of the songs were written over a decade before the release of this album, though Gray felt it was only now time to bring them out. This time, the focus is on his lived-in voice, supported by graceful guitar chords and calm percussion. The result is an extremely atmospheric album. (JvQ)more
