New Jersey artist Eddie Skuller presents ‘House Where Nobody Lives’, a standout track from his ‘Blind Love’ EP, which originally appeared on Tom Waits’ Grammy-winning album ‘Mule Variations’, which received the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. This features Eddie’s son Jack Skuller on guitar, Jeremy Chatzky (Springsteen, Steve Earle, Ronnie Spector) on bass, and Nick Kinsey on drums and keyboards.
This four-track homage to Waits’ songwriting revisits a storyteller with a rare ability to capture human character, emotion and melody, as well as his ability to find beauty and humanity in unexpected places.
Eddie Skuller’s vocal was recorded completely live to 2-inch tape during the tracking session. Nick Kinsey then worked his studio magic, even incorporating a four-track cassette recorder to capture some otherworldly sounds from his vintage Optigan keyboard.
“One of those beautiful Tom Waits songs I wish I had written, Waits’ lyrics express the idea that love is what gives a house true value: “If there’s love in a house, it’s a palace for sure.” The lyrics also suggest the personal emptiness that can follow when we lose sight of what matters most,” says Eddie Skuller.
“I’ve always been intrigued by abandoned homes, wondering about the faded memories and lost stories they once held. I discovered a fascinating video collection of abandoned homes on the “Urban Exploring With Kappy” YouTube channel. Documenting historic abandoned houses, he captures both their exteriors and interiors. He graciously gave me permission to repurpose some of his footage for this new lyric video, which I manipulated to create a more abstract and ethereal backdrop for the video.”
With a unique vocal style, Skuller brings a raw, analog intimacy to these compositions, exploring the space between homage and reinvention. Performed with reverence, restraint and emotional intelligence, he allows the songs’ emotional complexity to emerge, his delivery favoring intimacy over imitation.
Based in Jersey City, Eddie Skuller went to the opposite edge of the state to record this EP – namely, the upstate New York studio The Chicken Shack with producer-proprietor Nick Kinsey, known for his work with Kevin Morby, Waxahatchee and Scott McMickey. Fun fact: Waits himself is said to have made his Mule Variations album in another converted chicken shack on the opposite coast.
Apart from the artists mentioned earlier, this EP also involves Ryder Cooley of Dust Bowl Faeries on accordion. Skuller’s performance reveals layers of tenderness, nostalgia, and quiet hope. Captured without edits or vocal overdubs, the recording preserves the spontaneity of the recording and the imperfections of analog production, the vocals captured live with the band.
Eddie Skuller explains, “These four songs share a dark melancholy of lost love and desire, but all resolve with a sense of hope for a positive future outcome. That’s what draws me in to these songs and what connects them. In my live show, it’s the spirit of hope that people take with them. What makes this experience unique for me is that it was recorded live in studio to tape…. The songs became meditative dirges and the lyrics read as pure poetry.”
Skuller earlier shared his renditions of ‘Downtown Train’ and ‘You Can Never Hold Back Spring’, two of Waits’ most quietly affecting songs, revealing a gentler side of Waits’ catalog, where grit gives way to tenderness and reflection. Blending collage, illustration, photography, typography and animation, the music video is a collaboration with French collective SPX ETC (artists Sandrine Pagnoux and Sophie Etchart), sparked through Sandrine’s Tom Waits editorial for 46pgs magazine.
Skuller is also a regular guest vocalist with The Losers Lounge, the acclaimed tribute series curated by The Psychedelic Furs’ Joe McGinty and regularly held at Joe’s Pub and City Winery in NYC. His live performances have drawn praise for their authenticity, emotional clarity, and musical integrity.
The ‘Blind Love’ EP is out now, available everywhere digitally, including Spotify, Apple Music and also directly from the artist via Bandcamp.
TRACK LIST
01 Eddie Skuller – Blind Love
02 Eddie Skuller – Downtown Train
03 Eddie Skuller – House Where Nobody Lives
04 Eddie Skuller – You Can Never Hold Back Spring
CREDITS
Produced & Mixed by Nick Kinsey at the Chicken Shack Studio, New York
Mastered by Christopher Colbert at National Freedom Studio, Oregon
Eddie Skuller – vocals
Jeremy Chatzky – bass
Jack Skuller – guitar
Nick Kinsey – drums, percussion, keyboards
Ryder Cooley – accordion
EP cover photo and design by Eddie Skuller
‘You Can Never Hold Back Spring’ video produced for SPX ETC
by Sophie Etchart & Sandrine Pagnoux
Single cover photo & design by SPX ETC
Original artist photos by Eddie Skuller
Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR