Even with the inclusion of some new material, it's probably best to think of Skelliconnection as being to Infiniheart what Amnesiac was to Kid A: not so much a progression as an extrapolation, an offering from an artist who, by the very nature of his one-guy-in-a-bedroom aesthetic, should be telling us so much about himself when, really, his material has yet to enter real time.  Full text...

Infiniheart won over many critics and fans of lo-fi earnestness everywhere and he garnered comparisons to the likes of countryman Neil Young, Daniel Johnston and bevy of Sub Pop alums including Iron & Wine and the Shins. Skelliconnection only ups the ante.  Full text...

Like Infiniheart, Skelliconnection is undermined by seemingly random sequencing, still feeling more like a hodgepodge compilation than an album with a purposeful arc; that VanGaalen subverts the poignancy of penultimate acoustic ballad "Sing Me 2 Sleep" with a closing burst of synth/drum spasms ("Systemic Heart") suggests a lingering discomfort with the ideas of canonization and grandeur.  Full text...

Like the debut, Skelliconnection was drawn from a stock of hundreds of basement-taped songs - VanGaalen had apparently recorded two albums worth of new material in the interim between his first album on Sub Pop and the one you're reading about right now. As a result, there's a fair bit of stylistic diversity, and the record can be somewhat hard to follow as VanGaalen flits from punk rock distortion to psyche-electronica to Neil Young ballads.  Full text...

Canadian singer/songwriter Chad VanGaalen’s second LP Skelliconnection, which includes two trippy animated music videos, is not a giant step forward from his previous disc Infiniheart, but he obviously has a few more tools to work with this time around. The material might be a bit more edgy, but plenty of his signature melancholy tunes were left in the mix this time around, as well.  Full text...

Instead of gathering another unassuming set of downer-pop, it kicks, bloops, bleeps, and occasionally charges, dropping back to the mellow moods only when it's otherwise exhausted. And when he's rollicking, VanGaalen doesn't save much room for the creaky refinement that characterizes his best songs.   Full text...

Approached as a survey course in modern indie rock, Chad VanGaalen's sophomore album, Skelliconnection, makes for an interesting listen.  Full text...

His music could be a good deal better than it is, and it’s already about a million times better than Kazaam.   Full text...

My brain hurts.  Full text...