Steelings - “Sky High”
Nashville’s Steelings have borrowed the landscape of Scotland as inspiration for their latest single, “Sky High,” a grand, cinematic offering to the world of indie folk. It begins immediately with heartfelt vocals, strewn atop a canvas of acoustic guitar. Both are very well captured here, and gain the listener’s trust and attention immediately, but the soft hums between lyrical lines seal the deal.
Half a minute deep, our ears are greeted with some gentle percussion, enough to move the song forward, but not enough to distract from this voice– it is unlikely that anything could, actually; she has been blessed with a vocal that is very well suited for this genre of music. And then the harmonies fall into place and we are carried away via our headphones across a Scottish skyline that we will hopefully, one day, get to witness in person, but, for now, this song is more than enough. The chorus is simply two, ethereal words: “sky high,” lifting the sonic experience with the pulse of a distant kick drum and soaring background falsettos.
Steelings’ knack for blending folk and electronic music begins to show its head after the second chorus, as a slightly distorted and synthy bass line offers an element that we were not quite expecting. It completely works here, though, at the peak of the crescendo, and the last third of the song serves as a reminder that no artist should ever be tied down to one genre.
-TM