Paul Lewis and Romeo Rage

Sky’s Rust

(Realize Records)

On the opening track, “Rips,” the band offers its proto-punk style but the band really gets inventive with their production on the second song, “Send Letters,” delivering a very stark vocal, bass, snare verse into overdrive. The heavy power chord hit of “Black” follows. In both, there are added backing guitar touches and synth lines, respectively, and the big drama that rises on “Black” especially compliments Rage’s low voice.

We get a change up in sound with a loose beat on “Ghost Town,” but the next track “Slip Away“ sounds like the theme from a wild western with its single synth whistling, string hits, and heavy percussion, all behind Rage’s pleading vocal talk. Another great tune from the boys.

Sanders tight snare and Lewis playing acoustic slip us into “The Shift,” another strong, studied, simple tune. The big crashing drums, Lewis not doing much more than keeping up the strumming and again an ever-so-light touch of synth, are the perfect backing for Rage’s emotive vocal.

“The Pines” ends Sky’s Rust, another acoustic-based tune, a pleading love song, featuring more of that whistling (although of a different timbre) and the band’s best use of backing vocals.

Sky’s Rust is killer stuff, really. Perfectly played (and sung), written, produced, and conjuring lots of mind movies across a listening.