Under Utopia by Skeleten

The Feature Album this week on 2SER is the stunning debut album from Eora-based multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and producer Russell Fitzgibbon, aka Skeleten.

Written before and during the pandemic, Under Utopia had already half-arrived before this week, via a long string of excellent singles stretching back to the early days of 2020. Singles such as Mirrored as well as No Drones in the Afterlife gave a sense for Fitzgibbon’s talent at creating understated, sparse soundscapes that are nevertheless melodically rich and intimate.

The completed record is a further dose of nuanced and understated songcrafting that infuses synthesised productions with a pulsing yet dreamlike aesthetic, and hazy and affected lyrics that broadly explores the shifting conception of idealist utopias in history and time. It’s an excellent and cohesive listen from top to tail and highly recommended.

Under Utopia is out now via Astral People on vinyl and digital