Skye Steele
All That Light
Reviewed by: Lauren Rosier
The release of 2015’s Up From The Bitterroot from singer/songwriter, Skye Steele, was a story about his failing marriage. Now Steele returns with the brilliant follow-up, All That Light, about his journey and readiness for change: accepting it, embracing it, and learning from it.
The new LP opens with the bustling track “Back In The Valley”, a track that reveals the beginning of a new season for Steele, and his readiness for the next adventure in life.
With the title track, the storytelling and lyricism in “All That Light” is incredible. Steele narrates his journey from a place of heartache with his divorce, leaving his community, and everything he knows, while still maneuvering through daily life and its ups and downs.
He nonchalantly sings about learning how to get up and the changes in his life: “I finally learned how to wake up in the morning/the secret is go the fuck to sleep at night/and a little less caffeine/and a little less liquor/all that clean livin’/I feel great but/I guess I’m getting older…”
The changes, however, don’t mean that he isn’t going to have fun: “...but I still need to get crazy/and act up sometimes/get drunk with my friends/and stay up all night/walk home in the morning/feeling alright/and shake my head and laugh/at all that light…”
One of my favorite aspects of Steele is the way he takes a situation and illustrates it through his creative lyricism. On “Living A Storm”, he sings “you’ve been living a storm so long/you only know the sun/when it’s tearing you apart…” The track has this mysterious yet eerie vibe that reminds me of a song out of the ’80s.
Steele goes in a pop rock direction on the track “What Remains” where he’s focused on trying to hold on to what’s left of his life and his relationship with his now ex-wife. “So memory, memory/hold on to both sides/the good times and the pain/so I can make the most of what remains…” while he sings an ode to his former spouse on “I Wish You Well”.
Life throws curve balls at us and we just have to be able to adapt to them and embrace change. On All That Light, Steele is able to create a beautiful record about embracing change and he does just that from beginning to end.
Rating: Bad-Ass
