…love myself today, BASEMENT REVOLVER Skin
Basement Revolver – Skin is available at Sonic Unyon, Apple Music, Spotify, Bandcamp.
by Walter Price
From its open anxiety-inducing guitar work just before it breaks into a dream-pop soundscape, the new single, “Skin”, from Ontario post-punk outfit Basement Revolver is an emotional journey of self-acceptance. And, without a doubt, it’s personal.
Vocalist Chrisy Hurn-Morrison, in her lush delivery, lays bare her truths about body image and it’ll not only resonate with so many going through the same inner turmoil, but it may just let you know, through the tears, that what matters most is how you see and feel about you…but to be admired by another regardless of shape, well, that would be all the more tingly magic…
Shame’s caress it burns
My stomach knots and turns
Please don’t ask me why
Make me feel like new
Just dancing here with you
Kicking off our shoes
I want to feel at home
In my skin, in my skin.
I want to feel at home
In my skin, in my…
Feel you standing there
Try to grin and bear,
Touch me with your stare
Make me feel all loose
Forget I had to choose
To love myself today
And to add a more delicate if not stark reality to this song’s message, the inspirational music video, directed by Steph Montani, is a brave look into this songwriter’s daily struggle. The opening scene of hiding in a bath is familiar enough, but what unfolds in the forest must have been extremely daunting if not liberating, as the singer laments in a Facebook post on August 6th, “Making this video was one of the most terrifying things I have ever done. I have been afraid of my body for so long, this thing that felt like an alien that I have been forced to inhabit. If you have ever struggled similarly, this is for you. May we learn to love ourselves together.”
This powerful song and its stunningly moving music video, both need to be shared. As incredibly painful as it may be, the ultimate story here is the beauty of embracing what one can not necessarily be changed.
BASEMENT REVOLVER Skin
Band photo via Bandcamp
Chrisy Hurn-Morrison – vocals, guitar
Nim Agalawatte – bass, guitar, synth
Jonathan Malström – guitar, piano, percussion
Levi Kertesz – drums, percussion
Written by Christina Hurn-Morrison, Nimal Agalawatte, Jonathan Malström
Recorded & Mixed by Ian Gomes at Union Sound in Toronto
Vocals recorded by Adam Bentley & Jordan Mitchell at Tape in Hamilton
Mastered by João Carvalho Mastering
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“In 2020, the world stopped but Basement Revolver never really did: songs were written and recorded, a band member left, and another came to replace them. But, they couldn’t tour or rehearse or record in the usual way. The gap between making work, and being alone, resulted in serious introspection for the band. Their new album is full of the tension in a world that is shut down, but which expects productivity. This resulted in a deeper understanding of what kind of message the band wanted to present, and which stories they wanted to tell.” – bio