Brian Eno coined and began using the term ambient music in the late 70’s. In the liner notes of his 1978 album, Music For Airports, he describes ambient music as being “an atmosphere, a tint…intended to induce calm and a space to think”.

Combine this idea of ambience with a dollop of shoe-gaze and a few alt.indie vibes and you have Manchester 5-piece, Thin-Skinned.

Totally underrated (in my opinion) and full of raw talent, Thin-Skinned display a concoction of beautifully ambient tones as well as more danceable, ebullient ones.

Taking inspiration from artists such as The War On Drugs, Bon Iver and Pink Floyd, Thin-Skinned make music you wouldn’t stereotypically expect from 5 Manchester students. Their music is somewhat mature and professional, yet still holds plenty of elements of fun.

Single, ‘A Pacifist’s Corner‘, is told from the perspective of someone seeing something unfold that they can’t do anything about, and deals with the frustrations surrounding it. For me, it’s the perfect ‘end of the night’ song – it’s genuinely beautiful, with plucky guitar against a gentle strumming of chords that creates an almost nostalgic feel.  As the track is built up throughout the last half, emotional lyrics ring out and the tempo quickens, including a delicate, electro guitar solo that really adds some nice texture to the track.

Despite ‘A Pacifist’s Corner‘ being the only track currently available on Spotify, the band have uploaded several demos to their Soundcloud, including ‘Desperate For Breath‘ and ‘Newspaper People‘ – two tracks that truly show the band’s more indie, danceable side.

The band have released a video for ‘Desperate For Breath‘ (shown above), which depicts the general harsh state of modern day politics and the press the world currently has to face.

Thin-Skinned have gigged up and down the country over the past few years, including headline gigs in both Manchester and London.

Their upcoming gigs are listed on their website, as well as links to their social media pages.