Skullcrusher - Quiet the Room

Secretly Canadian

The debut album from Skullcrucher comes to fruition through 'Quiet the Room'. A somewhat hauntingly beautiful piece of psychedelically tinged indie folk. There's a touch of innocence, and with it a touch of menace, which results in a soft and somewhat enigmatic release.

There isn't a greater space between artist name and artist output in the game. The name Skullcrusher - real name Helen Ballentine - brings metal to mind, maybe even the more extreme side of it too. You press play..... and it's anything but. Lullaby-like tenderness caresses. Skullcrusher's 2021 EP 'Storm in Summer' made my top 25 EP’s of said year. I loved it's 'beamed in from another realm' qualities.

Quiet the Room arrives at a soothing pace. Acoustic with touches of experimentation in ambiance and electronic whispers, Quiet the Room feels like a thunderstorm during a bout of snowfall. Elegant with undertones of intensity. The album cover does it's job in telling a tale. Is it abandoned? The lights are on - at least the porch lights are - but is anyone home? Far out in the country does anyone know you're there? Has enough of life been lived and isolation is the last attempt at doing it right? Remove the hum of existence and quiet the room, please. Light atmospheres wisp and coil like spirited blankets. This music comes from another dimension. Piano pitter-patters like rainfall from time to time - used sparingly it's effective when it occurs. A sense of distance is added to the intimate nature of the material - you could call it a distant call within reach.

The strings of her guitars scratch and sigh in ways that evoke a sense of longing. A sense of needing to be someplace else. Like being seduced into a late-night campfire setting silhouetted by spirits Skullcrusher lulls you into a scene of smoke-y embers and dead silence. Time to reminisce. Tine to reflect. The nighttime swallows all. These spirits mean no harm. They're just looking for company, you know.