Blackout Beach is the solo nom de guerre of Carey Mercer (from Frog Eyes and Swan Lake), and Skin of Evil is his second full-length. Skin of Evil is remarkable in the sense that a. it contains a story, and b. it sticks to the story; a rare occurrence in these free times. "Donna" is the subject, and each of her lovers (past & present) say their peace in song (Donna gets her song, too). Composed, played and recorded entirely by Mercer alone, these songs revel in the dark side of the heady proto-punk Cleveland axis (e.g. Peter Laughner, David Thomas) with a minimal, textural & almost Suicide-ish sense of pop form and the experimental nature of recent Scott Walker works.

“Maybe it's about a girl, about salvation's undoing through romantic love, wreckage of this kind…No matter, the important thing is that this is the first time I've REALLY heard theatrics AND atmospherics in a record, and such an abundance of both.  One exception is Roxy Music’s Avalon, which this record reminds me of if only for how incredibly well you can (thankfully) hear every last thing.  And though Bryan Ferry’s version of control and release are slightly different than Carey’s, Skin of Evil is more just different lyrical concerns, which we’ll here call 'worldview.'
I believe Skin of Evil is the best record I will hear this year, but let’s not get into that." – Dan Bejar, Vancouver, BC