ALBUM REVIEW: Nic Cester – The Skipping Girl

The Skipping Girl is the new album from Nic Cetser formerly of Australian band Jet and covers supergroup The Jaded Hearts Club is released as a companion to his children’s book of the same name.

Starting with “Goodnight Beautiful” its haunting melodies cast the initial impression that this album may be a difficult listen due to being a bit darker in tone. , that being said as the record progresses through more upbeat offerings it becomes clear just what a beautiful, captivating, well-constructed album this is. Each song being a necessary part of the story.

I’m not always a fan of more acoustic sounds but Nic manages to make songs like “Cry Baby” sound as epic as if they were recorded with a full band. It is worth noting Nic played almost every instrument on this record himself and purposefully rejected autotuning to keep the record's raw and slightly imperfect sound.

While it fits perfectly into the rest of the album songs such as “Ordinary Love” feel less accessible as standalone tracks whereas Forever and Emily could easily be Single releases . “All in your Head” is an epic, souring offering and the perfect grand way to end the record.

Overall, if you’re expecting Jet or The Jaded Hearts Club then for the most part you may be disappointed, however if you listen to this with no preconceptions it’s stunning and well worth a listen. I’m looking forward to reading the book and re-listening once I have the full context behind what I’m listening to.