Following on from their two super red-hot singles, Ava Don’t Cry and Tooth Fairy, Brisbane band Scandal Tree deliver their new single Skin in the Game. Where their previous singles playfully explored fictitious worlds, Skin in the Game tackles the realism of a gritty urban landscape, unloving streets, struggling souls and the rise in the numbers homeless families.
“In their crusade to save the world many people seem prepared to leave their own community to waste. How did we get here?” ask singer Huckleberry Crowe.
This is the third single from the upcoming debut album Never Look a Gift Foot in the Mouth and though the band do not view it as a political song it does challenge those who see the world through an idealogical lens. Beneath it is a call to prioritise community and integrity before ideologies.
Sonically, Skin in the Game continues Scandal Tree’s signature not-to-heavy-not-too-light sound, their energy, angst and urgency. The arrangement is stylish, builds tension across the track, gets feet tapping, and the killer hook, “sharks hunt muddy waters in the river after the rain” will have you singing along.
This isn’t a protest song. It’s a pressure test.
