Originating as a chance for Gira and Jarboe to further explore musical possibilities, the first Skin album clearly establishes the band's own identity as distinct from Swans, while at the same time clearly being a product of its parent band. Rcorded in the U.K., Blood features a number of performers from the backing band of fellow musical extremist Marc Almond. The biggest change from Swans lies in Jarboe taking the lead on all the tracks; her passionate, haunting, almost gospel singing has been consistently underrated over the years by the rock press at large, but one listen to the marvelous job she does on a chilling version of Julie London's Cry Me a River confirms her abilities there, not to mention her instrumental skill, as weirdly delicate keyboards contrast against moody piano and a moaning background vocal. Both Gira and Jarboe share credits for the excellent, spacious, and nearly all keyboard-led arrangements throughout; while Gira has the full production credit, one can't help but feel that Jarboe's input was equally strong. Lyrically, though, this is all Gira's work, as just about any random glance at the words will confirm: images of death, cruelty, and so forth. Here, however, they are given an increasingly mythic/religious touch, in line with the various thematic obsessions explored on the contemporaneous Swans release Children of God, and even on one seemingly straightforward (though musically quite disturbing and ominous) love song, Red Rose. The contrast between Jarboe's at-times soothing vocals and Gira's vicious lyrical imagery explains much of the album's unnerving appeal; when she sweetly sings "Now you're curled up beneath me in a pool of your own blood" over a solo piano figure on Still a Child, the effect is that of a nightmarish lullaby. Add to that such grand tracks as Blood on Your Hand, a powerfully performed modern horror show blues, and Skin is off to a striking start. ~ Ned Raggett, Rovi

1		One Thousand Years
2		Cry Me a River
3		We'll Fall Apart
4		Still a Child
5		Come Out
6		The Man I Love
7		Red Rose
8		Blood on Your Hands
9		My Own Hands

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