Skegss Announce New Album, Share Single ‘Out of My Head’

The duo’s much anticipated third album arrives this October.

Image by Jack Moran

Skegss – now performing as a duo comprising Ben Reed (vocals, guitar) and Jonny Lani (drums) – are gearing up for the release of their third album, Pacific Highway Music. Set for release on Friday, October 18 via Loma Vista Recordings (pre-order/pre-save here), the album comes on the heels of the lad’s ARIA chart-topping sophomore album, Rehearsal, which dropped in 2021.

Produced by Paul Butler (Devendra Banhart, Michael Kiwanuka) and recorded at LA’s The Village and Topanga Canyon’s Fivestar Studios, Pacific Highway Music is inspired by the music of Iggy Pop and underground artists like Deepakalypse.

“In the past I’d deprived myself of using things like synthesisers, not realising how much texture and atmosphere they can add to the music,” Reed explains about the record. “Working with Paul felt like letting our guard down and completely opening up in terms of what these songs could be.”

Pacific Highway Music is also a nod to the Australian coastal road the band has travelled during countless tours and surf trips. “I’ve spent a lot of my life driving on the Pacific Highway, and most of the time it puts me in a bit of hypnotic state,” says Reed.

“With this album I tried to be as honest as possible, but I also wanted to create the kind of songs that give you that same feeling—songs where you can shut your eyes, let your imagination take over, and drift off into another world that exists only in your mind.”  

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Along with announcing their third album, Skegss has shared new single ‘Out Of My Head’. A jangly surf rocker with a touch of The Strokes, it’s another welcome release from Skegss that’s accompanied by a music video directed by Vaughan Deadly and Nick Pollet (watch above).

"Don’t get caught up on how someone makes you feel for too long in a negative way, pretend you get to restart life again and go do the things that make you thrive,” Reed says of the track. “We all say and do dumb things no matter how wise someone seems. So don’t get too hung up on your mistakes if you recognise them." 

The release of Pacific Highway Music comes after a year of change for Skegss, with bassist and vocalist Toby Cregan leaving the band last year, performing with Skegss for the final time at Splendour in the Grass. The band also recently wrapped their nationwide regional tour and will hopefully announce more dates in the lead-up to the release of their new album.

Pacific Highway Music arrives October 18 via Loma Vista Recordings. You can pre-order/pre-save your copy here and check out the album artwork and tracklist below.

Pacific Highway Music

1. Tradewinds 

2. High Beaming 

3. I Think I Can Fly 

4. Brain On The Highway 

5. Stuck In Cheyenne 

6. Spaceman 

7. Batten Down The Hatches 

8. Aeroplane Heart 

9. Out Of My Head 

10. It Is 

11. Kelly Heroes 

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