Skee Mask + North Americans - Final Circle
An oneiric maximalism runs through the debut collaboration between Skee Mask and North Americans, just as its psychedelic technicolor cover art suggests. Final Circle is approached with subtlety and generosity as the two artists pull together the softer textures of their music for an ethereal record. Patrick McDermott (cofounder of Driftless Recordings with releases on Third Man Records) has been exploring the dreamier side of Americana as North Americans across several releases since 2013, but here there’s extra consideration given to this ultra clear fusion with Bryan Müller’s dub indebted ambience.
Where the bass spanning Skee Mask’s catalogue may often pound in hypnotic fashion, here it emanates slowly in fluctuating soundscapes, joined by blurry keys rippling underwater, and the soft caress of wind through leaves. Content to meander and revel in some respite for a little while; even when ‘05012023’ reaches a rushing metallic resonance, it’s all in service to feathering the edges.
A gentle storm rolls in on ‘15102021’, welcomed by hopeful guitars that leave an eager helping of negative space between each strum. Drenched in reverb that rejuvenates the land. ‘22122021’ contains a more active palette, with a restlessness to its twitchy echoing details wanting to explore Final Circle’s sonic terrariums, over which ‘29072025’ looms as synth pads mist and swirl. The occasional beeps of ‘30122021’ reset this magic haze, guitars elongated and refracted into prismatic edits.
Enigmatic as it is unexpected, Final Circle sees Skee Mask and North Americans finding lush and verdant common ground.