Skybelly, the nom de plume of Melbourne artist Sara Nelson, has a field of creative vision so wide it cannot be experienced without some sort of sonic widescreen equipment. The last release we covered was back in 2021 when she unveiled her stunning debut album, ‘A Space Tramp Odyssey’, a wild space opera infused with an aural kaleidoscope, and she subsequently released her second album ‘Vella‘ a few years later. Now there are signs she is back with her stunning new single ‘Hades Is My New Boyfriend’ ahead of a new album ‘silverado’ due out later this year (fittingly and somewhat mysteriously listed as Halloween).
‘Hades Is My New Boyfriend’ has a rippling delicate piano trill over ominous guitars and Nelson’s velvet, brooding vocals simmering under the surface, until they surface with an exclamatory delivery. Backing vocals are sinuous and mysterious with pounding percussion driving the song and the odd intrusion of muscular guitars. It’s a gothic feast.
There is an overall operatic, theatrical pulse to the track: innovative, bold and filled with swagger, delivered with a kohl-lined thousand yard stare, ebbing and flowing like a breached artery and ending in total sonic collapse:
This is terrific and terrifying stuff.
Engineered and mixed by Sara Nelson, ‘silverado’ came to life in collaboration with friends chris yannopoulos (bass, guitar), krispy effie (drums), liz blackthorn (keys), will dillon (guitar), and tarryn benson-smith (guitar). In her own inimitable fashion, Nelson details the story being told:
vella silverado is the main character. born and bred to be an assassin but kinda over the whole covert-murder shtick, she quits, much to the chagrin of her father. with no experience in conventional employment, she becomes an escort. the only problem? she falls for one of her clients.
as she becomes acquainted with her love interest, vella uncovers his secret plot: to steal all the stars from the sky. hijinks ensue. at one point, she goes undercover as a pop star. at another point, she must close a portal to a parallel universe – the usual shenanigans necessary to save the world.
Feature Photograph: Danysha Harriott.
