Did anyone else collect basketball cards when they were younger? I used to be obsessed back in the day, spending every cent of my meager allowance on packs of cards in hopes of chasing down rookie cards, completing some ridiculous subset or discovering the rarely seen refractor card. I only bring this up because I remember one of the ‘premium’ brands being Skybox (I was a NBA Hoops man myself btw), and in an unexpected callback to my childhood I now find myself jamming out to the sounds of a band with the same name. I like to think that fate brought us together, but really I just stumbled upon Skybox one day while cruising the stretches of the digital highway – not very poetic I admit, but it works for me.
The boys of Skybox call Chicago home (Midwest represent!) and already have one album, Arco Iris, under their belts. Their newest album, Morning After Cuts (released on 1/19/10) is also the product of a good ol’ fashioned upbringing, having been recorded in both the windy city and one of the greatest cities of all time, Madison, WI. [Side note: There's a small chance that my time in undergrad at Madison may be influencing my opinion of the city - whatever, it's awesome there.] But I digress…
On Morning After Cuts, Skybox busts out hard hitting keys, infectious guitar licks and a sprinkling of bouncy harmonies to provide a 31 minute excursion to the land of whimsical-I’msmilingallofasudden-andnowI’mdancing pop music. The end result definitely sounds a little like Of Montreal meets Passion Pit meets the parents. Also, I guess their live shows are more than your standard croonfest – according to Skybox’s site the shows “often evolve into spectacles that in the past have included costumes, confetti, go go dancers, snack cake, and the occasional chicken suit.” Wait what? “The occasional chicken suit” definitely implies that there has been more than one chicken suit making an appearance at shows – sounds kinda hilariously awesome. Jams below for your listening pleasure. Until next time my Muffin friends. Skybox: Train Tested. Muffin Approved.
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Morning After Cuts is available now at Amazon and wherever good music is sold!
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I’ve been waiting to see this article from the Train Station. Such a great sound. They had me on the first listen with the echo “dream.dream.dream.dream.dream” And then don’t fuck with sunshine – yes!
Thanks for posting this I’msmilingallofasudden.
Why are more people not talking about this? Great find. Love both tracks. Infectious sound. Fantastic album name. MADISON!!!