Despite never achieving real mainstream or commercial success, they are regarded by some as a trailblazer for the post-punk revival.
[1] Beautiful Skin consisted of guitarist Nick Forte and Brazilian keyboardist Ross Totino.
The two met while working at an electronics factory in New York; Forte was at the time playing in the band Computer Cougar, who released a single and a posthumous LP on the label Gern Blandsten.
Soon the pair were experimenting together, combining their respective influences into a sound reminiscent of the post-punk of Wire and The Cure as well as the experimental electronic of Suicide and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and the krautrock of Can and Kraftwerk.
With the addition of Mitch Rackin on bass and Charles Burst on drums, Beautiful Skin toured the west coast in the winter of 2000/2001, supporting labelmates such as The Locust, Le Shok, and De Facto, and split soon after.