Skiving – Conversations With David Berman (Was That Civilised ?)

London art rock five-piece Skiving release “Conversations With David Berman (Was That Civilised ?)”, a track that references the late Silver Jews and Purple Mountains songwriter. The band’s sound moves between post-rock, delicate electronica, and kraut riffs, refusing to settle into one genre.

Skiving performs in “schlubby middle-management attire,” turning the mundane aesthetics of corporate life into pointed social commentary. The David Berman reference feels fitting. Berman spent his career writing about everyday American landscapes with a poet’s eye, finding meaning in strip malls and corporate parks. Skiving takes a similar approach from their London vantage point, using office culture as their canvas for surreal critique.

The track title’s parenthetical “Was That Civilised ?” adds another layer, questioning the civility we perform in professional settings while hinting at the chaos underneath.