We had to do it. We had to! You listen to the kind Darkwave-tinged Electro that Sacred Skin is making and tell us it doesn’t somewhat fit under the “Spooky SZN Sounds” banner! Also, we were already late to the Sacred Skin party when we came across them early in 2025 and have procrastinated enough on reviewing this record (To the extent that there have been at least 2 new singles on the ramp up toward the next LP) that we kind of need an excuse to review a year and change old record….
Anyway!
Sacred Skin, where have you been all our lives??? Channeling the collected aesthetic of the ’80’s according to Michael Mann, William Friedkin, and Joel Schumacher with a nod to Walter Hill’s cult classic Streets Of Fire (So, obviously our jam for life) among other sound/style inspirations, the Los Angeles duo Brian Tarney and Brian DaMert together as Sacred Skin not only walk the walk with their visual presence but talk the talk with the soundtrack they’ve created on full-length Born In Fire and lead single “Waiting”.
That lead single, “Waiting”, also happens to kick off the record and we can’t think of a better way to do that than with a song that wholly embodies what’s to come sporting an ethereal glow, glistening guitars, and smooth synths to match the smooth way that DaMert delivers lush lyrics. “Runaway” has those neon-soaked nights of the ’80’s feels down with a Don Henley/Glenn Frey way (Think more Miami Vice, less The Eagles) with “Show You Love” exemplifying the Sacred Skin way as pre-choruses pounce with verses that are just as epic as the actual chorus surrounded by those warm and glowing synths and wailing guitars.
Kajagoogoo comes calling at the onset of “Call It Off” then goes to some slick Darkwave corners with airs of early Madonna, Bananarama and Chic/Nile Rodgers all occupying the same space while “Too Hard To Find” is a synthetic masterpiece with a twinkling atmosphere and larger than life thumping synth lines. “Surrender” is built off of Wang Chung’s legendary To Live And Die In L.A. score punctuated by perpetually throbbing synths, “Breaking The Waves” gives us all the Brad Fiedel feels (Think the especially vampiric vibes from his Fright Night score) and then the title track provides a sleek instrumental synthetic palette cleanser until “Paranoid” prances in with a driving luminescence.
Early in 2025, “The Lights” got a slight update by way of the HEALTH remix as well as the EU Single Mix (Both found here) with the former introducing a slightly somber and Gothic version while the latter plays with the original’s textures, rearranging to mold a more Groove-centric affair all around. The latest DaMert/Tarney pairing ends with the electric “Blue Static” which seems to take bits and pieces of what’s come before on Born… and elegantly elevates it to give listeners the ultimate Sacred Skin experience to close out their latest full-length.
Born In Fire is out NOW through Artoffact Records and you can get it for yourself by heading here. For more from Sacred Skin, including the latest on when their next record is arriving as well as when upcoming West Coast and European live dates are happening, hit the socials here, here or here.