Raised in Kansas around her parents’ love of bluegrass and folk, Skofee melds the candid lyrics and cultured harmonies of those time-honored genres to utterly here-and-now alt-pop. Her immediately recognizable, finely-grained timbre – a voice at once you-and-me intimate and headily escapist – magnetizes effervescent material and sometimes uncomfortably frank messages.
“I’m attracted to songs that admit fault and work through emotions in real time rather than presenting the conclusion wrapped up with a bow,” mulled Skofee (pronounced “Skoh-fee”). “It’s more interesting to be in the point of tension as a listener; the in-between.”
Skofee attended high school in Colorado, where she performed in choirs and musical theater. After graduating from the University of Southern California, she decided to remain in Los Angeles, immersed in an ultra-creative household of musical peers (including Polished co-producer Jamison Baken).
“USC exposed me to so many incredible songwriters, which got me even more excited about pursuing music,” she said. “It’s important to surround yourself with people who better than you at your craft. It was a huge motivation for me to work harder and be a more honest songwriter.”
Skofee introduced her debut EP, Polished, in the fall of 2020 with searching first single “Fantomlimb,” produced by longtime collaborator, Devan Welsh.
“It details the feeling of longing for someone who isn’t there for you in the way they once were, emotionally… Around the metaphor of phantom limb pain,” she explained.
“Fantomlimb” sets the tone for an EP of lyrical catharsis wrapped in lush, left-of-center pop. Each of its five songs is an articulate exhaling from first-hand life experience; evocative synths and understated guitar framing layers of glacial vocals and lingering, sometimes stinging, words. Polished juxtaposes a painful self-awareness of our desperate quest for resolve against the polished personas that we present to the world.
“I wrote the songs as individual thoughts and linked their meanings after I had a collection I felt I could really stand behind,” Skofee continued. “My goal as a songwriter is to create concise moments for the listener to engage with, and I do feel that each song on the EP accomplishes a different moment.”
Polished’s buoyant title track (and second single) explores our Sisyphean search for emotional resolution. The addictive “Crabapple” metaphors the bittersweet transition away from childhood wonder and the familial cocoon. Co-written with McCall Kimball, “Bleach” captures the angst of watching a friend lose themselves to a controlling partner, while the irresistibly danceable Via Savage collaboration “Spiderman” shimmies through the squirming discomforts of post-breakup jealousy
Writing and recording in bedrooms with her friends has left Skofee’s youthful insights undiluted beneath a late-night R&B sheen. Instinctively stretching the boundaries of indie pop, the resulting Polished announces a significant and uniquely nuanced musical presence.
“The point of the title is sort of ironic, because the songs themselves have been polished … but the lyrical content shows a lot of dysfunction,” she concluded. “It’s also about learning to love your shortcomings and go easy on yourself as you make mistakes and discover the ugly sides of yourself.”
