Skegss have announced their new album, Pacific Highway Music.
Now a duo, Ben Reed and Jonny Lani will release Pacific Highway Music on Friday, October 18th, and it’s Skegss’ “most masterful and fully realised work to date,” according to a press release.
Skegss recorded the album at two iconic LA studios, The Village and Topanga Canyon’s Fivestar Studios, and spent some time cutting demos at Rancho de la Luna in Joshua Tree with studio owner Dave Catching (Queens of the Stone Age, Mark Lanegan). Pacific Highway Music was produced by Paul Butler (Devendra Banhart, Michael Kiwanuka).
“In the past I’d deprived myself of using things like synthesisers, not realising how much texture and atmosphere they can add to the music,” says Reed. “Working with Paul felt like letting our guard down and completely opening up in terms of what these songs could be.”
The album title is a nod to the Aussie coastal road the pair have driven on countless of times, both on tour and on surf trips.
“I’ve spent a lot of my life driving on the Pacific Highway, and most of the time it puts me in a bit of hypnotic state,” Reed adds. “With this album I tried to be as honest as possible, but I also wanted to create the kind of songs that give you that same feeling—songs where you can shut your eyes, let your imagination take over, and drift off into another world that exists only in your mind.”
To celebrate their album announcement, Skegss have dropped new single “Out of My Head,” which is accompanied by a playful karaoke video directed by Vaughan Deadly and Nick Pollet (watch below).
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“Don’t get caught up on how someone makes you feel for too long in a negative way, pretend you get to restart life again and go do the things that make you thrive,” Reed says of their single. “We all say and do dumb things no matter how wise someone seems. So don’t get too hung up on your mistakes if you recognise them.”
Skegss’ album announcement follows the release of recent single “Spaceman,” which had been in the works for a while.
“Made this song during the pandemic and it’s had a couple of versions, but happy we kept trying new things with this one and where we got it to. It’s funny how far we are from outer space, sleeping is hard sometimes but thinking about outer space is harder. With a shoulder shrug… Spaceman,” the band said at the time.
Skegss recently wrapped a massive regional Australian tour in celebration of their new single, which took them to Torquay, Townsville, Albury, Jindabyne, and almost everywhere else in-between.
Following 2022’s double release of “Stranger Days” and “December,” “Spaceman” reintroduced Skegss to the world as the duo of Reed and Lani.
The band announced last year that they were no longer a trio with the departure of Toby Cregan.
The news was confirmed in a statement shared by the musician on social media. “I have been so lucky to have been in @skegss for about 10 years and I have had some of the best times of my life and made friendships that will remain forever,” he wrote on Instagram, accompanied by a series of photos of the band throughout their career.
Skegss’ last album, Rehearsal, topped the ARIA Albums Chart in 2021.
Skegss’ “Out of My Head” is out now. Pacific Highway Music is out Friday, October 18th via Loma Vista Recordings (pre-save/pre-order here).
