Aaron Skiles sharpens the edges on new album ‘Angels, Demons and Coin Flips’

Aaron Skiles has never sounded especially interested in polishing the roughness out of rock music. His songs tend to work because they retain a little grit around the edges, pairing direct hooks with the kind of emotional wear that makes them feel lived. And on his new album ‘Angels, Demons and Coin Flips’, that instinct remains intact, but the scale around it has noticeably expanded.

The ten-track album finds him working alongside Josh Jove, whose lead guitar and co-production add extra bite to a sound already built around riffs, momentum and melodic immediacy. The result is a record that feels broader without losing the bluntness that has defined his previous work.

His 2022 LP ‘Wreckage From the Fire’ leaned heavily into ragged, classic-minded indie-rock, while ‘Whistle Past the Grave’ followed with a more introspective look at justice, compromise and the uncomfortable realities threaded through ordinary life. ‘Angels, Demons and Coin Flips’ feels like the next logical step, as the songwriting remains grounded, but the guitars hit harder and the arrangements arrive with greater confidence.

There’s also something suitably restless about the album’s title. Angels and demons suggest opposing instincts, while the coin flip introduces chance into the equation. Together, they point towards songs that explore unpredictable decisions, impulses and contradictions that shape everyday experiences.

Josh Jove’s guitar work adds another dimension to that approach. The solos feel purposeful when they arrive, sharpening the emotional peaks while giving the record a more muscular presence throughout. There are traces of classic riff-driven songwriting laced within, but its production and emotional openness place it firmly within contemporary indie-rock.

Rather than reinventing himself here, Aaron Skiles sounds as though he has tightened everything that was already working. ‘Angels, Demons and Coin Flips’ is louder, sharper and more assured, but the real attraction remains strong guitars, immediate melodies and songwriting that knows life rarely divides neatly into good decisions and bad ones.

Sometimes it just comes down to which way the coin lands.