Skegss: “Every human deserves to thrive in their own way”
Being in a band is rarely smooth sailing. Yet, despite what could have been a catastrophic blow for most groups—the departure of founding member and bassist Toby Cregan in 2023—Skegss released Pacific Highway Music on October 18th, and it’s an indie gem. Rather than being overwhelmed by the challenge of writing their third album as a duo, with the shadow of their former bandmate lingering, Ben Reed and Jonny Lani have doubled down, refining their sound and delivering a more resonant effort than ever before. While their previous albums, 2018’s My Own Mess and 2021’s Rehearsal, were widely loved, this release marks a significant step forward for the band.
I spoke to the duo over Zoom. We were originally scheduled to meet at their hotel, but unfortunately, a sickness bug kept me from making the trip. Despite this, both Reed and Lani were in good spirits, though admittedly a little tired, perhaps channelling my own weariness, albeit for very different—and much more exciting—reasons. The previous night, they had delivered a resounding performance at London’s Signature Brew, showcasing new material alongside fan favourites to an overwhelmingly positive response. Their exhaustion was understandable—not only had they been in the UK for just two whirlwind nights, but before that, they’d performed at a Quicksilver surfing event in Hossegor, southwest France, a hotspot for the sport.
The duo were also flying back to Australia that night. Curious, I asked if they were still feeling jetlagged after only just arriving in Europe. Drummer Jonny Lani, with a wry smile, replied, “No, just eternally hungover… in a good way.” From the sound of it, their time in France had been fantastic. Though both are surfers, it was their first visit to Hossegor, and unsurprisingly, they were enamoured with the spot. “It’s so cool,” Lani beamed before Ben Reed added with a grin, “We almost all stayed there… we stayed another night.”
It became readily apparent that Reed and Lani aren’t your typical, uptight musicians. Espousing the mellow essence of their hometown Byron Bay, and surf culture in general, while it had been “pretty hard” that Cregan – ‘Tobes’ – had left, Lani maintains that they’re “so lucky” because their friend Kelton has entered the fold, and “slotted in pretty well”. They agree that he’s a fantastic player.
Understandably, having Kelton join has made things much more manageable. But, when writing Pacific Highway Music, it was a different environment from what they were used to and now. “It was interesting trying to make it feel lively without playing with the bass player,” Lani recalls of the recording process.
Reed explained that the third Skegss album was written with just guitar and drums, but ultimately, the absence of a bassist was efficiently navigated.
“We bought a little two-track recorder, and then for a few of them when we were just working out songs, I worked out – I’m very dodgy at it – how to record us,” Lani reveals, with another smile cracking from the corner of his mouth. “Benny would send me a voice memo, and then I’d put some drums on it, and then he could put bass on it, then we could a bit of an idea of how the song might sound.”
Reed says the pair are feeling “pretty good” about how Pacific Highway Music turned out, especially given the lengthy process behind it and the fact that some of the songs had been sitting with them for a while. “There’s a process we went through: Covid, and then Tobes leaving, so there was a bit of a limbo period, almost,” frontman Reed explains. “It’s nice that it’s coming out and we got it done, but we definitely learnt a few things about how we just want to go back to how we originally recorded.”
Reed acknowledges that having Kelton join the band has been instrumental in moving forward from what could have been a difficult impasse. He shares that they’ve already jammed on new material with him, and all the signs are positive. Despite the shift in circumstances, the duo still managed to complete the album exactly how they envisioned it—a testament to their resilience and commitment.
The album title and title track refer to the sprawling eponymous road that goes near Byron Bay and up the coast. It’s not an incidental choice; there’s a concept behind the body of work, and it’s not purely the fact the band are on the asphalt “a lot”. Reed says: “It’s this thing I keep repeating that, hopefully, when you’re on your own in a car or something, you’re going to just be able to zone out to it and be in the world of it. I’m pretty happy with it”.
Although Reed notes that the Pacific Highway is “just a highway”, the snaking stretch of road has a more profound significance, speaking not only to the essence of their latest album but also to their characters.
“But we love it too because being in your car on your own is pretty chilling,” Reed continues. “Everyone likes it secretly, the comfort of it. Just put on your own tunes, podcasts or anything, and you can really debrief. I think we all love it. You know, when you haven’t even seen your car for ages, you see it, and you get pretty stoked,” he smiles.
This is precisely the kind of easygoing wisdom that courses throughout Pacific Highway Music, and why it is so resonant at points, with Reed’s concept piercing the listener. Lani then adds his own touch of sagacity: “It’s so nice stopping in your car when you’ve been out for ages. It’s cool because you’re either going somewhere cool or coming home. Both are exciting.”
Interestingly, while the record feels deeply rooted in where Skegss are from, parts of it were written in America. As you might have guessed, ‘Stuck in Cheyenne’ was penned there. Nearly two years ago, they were on tour in the US, and just a few shows in, they had the sense it was going to be a run to remember. However, one night, on their way to Utah for a show, their bus was forced to stop due to severe winds. They were instructed to pull off the road as the highway had been closed.
They pulled into a truck stop in Cheyenne, the capital of Wyoming. Unfortunately, this was where they’d stay for the next three days as a heavy blizzard was coming. This Hateful Eight-esque scene was also about to get a little weirder. “We were stuck there for three or four days, in this minus 40 blizzard, just like, on a bus at a shitty truck stop,” Lani recalls. “Luckily, there was a little bar; it’s an Australian-themed Bar and Grill.”
He laughs: “The only thing we could do was drink beers.”
This unforeseen circumstance gave the track its lifelike feel, and the lyric, “It’s so hard to follow your dreams / it’s so much harder than it seems,” Reed explains: “It’s just funny how like shit, you know, variables come at you, whether it’s a fucking blizzard or something else.” I wonder if the departure of Cregan also inspired the line.
When I asked Reed to delve deeper into the concept of Pacific Highway Music and how his songwriting evolved for the record, he revealed that he aimed to offer a glimpse into his imagination during meditative moments, such as driving. This approach led to a shift in his writing style—some of the songs on the album are more narrative-driven, moving away from the fully earnest tone of their earlier work. “There’s more of a conceptual mood and surrealness to some of the new tracks,” he explained, adding that he consciously leaned into “what my brain was saying.” Reflecting on this, he said: “It’s a glimpse of that, whether or not anyone ever interpreted it that way…”
It almost feels like there’s a distinct strand of melancholy running through the album, and this is just a microcosm of what Reed wanted to achieve. He states, “I just was thinking, if you need to escape your world for a bit, you need a break, you can go to this world and zone out to it. That was the idea. A place where you can visit if you need to tap out.”
Reed admits he gets sad when he sees people stuck in situations they don’t know how to or are too nice to escape from, with them scared of loneliness or hurting someone’s feelings. “Every human deserves to thrive in their own way, especially at some point, because sometime in your life, you will have to make sacrifices and look after people and do things. We have chapters where we can enjoy ourselves, and I get real sad when I don’t see that happening,” he says of the album’s motivations.
Despite being relaxed the entire chat, Skegss aren’t ones to delve into the specifics. They know music is subjective, and it’s best not to give it all away, as often, it can be disappointing for fans to hear the actual basis of music. After all, as soon as songs are released, they become the listeners, with personal meaning attached to them. That is precisely what Pacific Highway Music is: whatever you need it to be to escape reality for a moment and get some respite.
“I’ve learnt not to try telling everything, and Jonny sorta taught me that a bit,” Reed concludes.
