Skittish

AMG Review of Skittish

Bradley Torreano
All Music Guide

After the dissolution of Doughty's band Soul Coughing, he tried to get interest in solo material that he had recorded years earlier. Major labels didn't show interest, leading him to distribute the album exclusively on his website. The album, a stark acoustic album, is very different from any previous output Doughty has released in the past. His Paul Westerberg and Hank Williams, Sr. influences have finally found a balance with his beat poet style, making songs like the wonderful "Sweet Lord in Heaven" or the delicate "The Pink Life" bounce with a sharp, echoing style. Doughty's lyrical skills take a large step forward, and his guitar playing has a pleasantly lazy shuffle to it. Fans of Soul Coughing as well as fans of dark acoustic music in general will find this to be a wonderful offering from an underrated talent.