Under My Skin – SPC ECO (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

Preconceptions will always let you down. After all, a band made up of a dad and daughter just smacks of working men’s club acts and pub duos doesn’t it? Well, not when the dad is Dean Garcia, better known as one half of Curve and certainly not when daughter, Rose Berlin, has a voice, which sounds as evocative as this. Billy Ray and Miley this ain’t!

Under My Skin feels more like a collection of moods than music, of wistful reflections made into sound, of heart-breaking emotion, of barely tangible but emotively powerful expressions of love and loss and life. It feels like the ghosts of sounds that hang in the air when the music itself has been erased before itself being lost to the breeze. Garcia’s track record in crafting such ephemeral statements is well documented but the duo’s strength is borne out of more than just a musical connection.

“There was a truly emotional earthquake between Rose and myself due to a personal ongoing issue, which left us both scarred and in tears,” explains Dean Garcia. “One hour later to mend us both, I asked her if she would like to sing on the sad piano song again and she sang what you hear on the track. Driven to tears once again, but for the polar opposite reasons, this song is the epitome of the unquestionable love and bond that only occurs between family.”

Music is made for many reasons and using many tools and inspirations but it takes a bond this close, this raw, this loving, this primal, to truly make music that resonates this deeply.