Eyes of Others - the album

I really fell for Eyes of Others  after the release of single New Hair, New Me earlier in the year and I've fallen deeper after listening to their eponymous debut album, out now on Heavenly Recordings.

'Post pub, couldn't get in the club music' is how John Bryden describes his Eyes of Others project and on this evidence I wouldn't mind going back to his place!

Dub groove bass lines underpin much of the 10 songs over 41-minutes. The beats that go along with the bass are inventive and all kinds of melodic, crazy, psychedelic and gorgeous stuff is layered over the top.

Once, Twice, Thrice sets the tone; blissful, balearic and cool, the kind of tune you can imagine listening to at sunset ... or maybe sunrise. 

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Safehouse has a psychedelic dub feel to it, with Caribbean effects introduced to hypnotic effect towards the end. I'd love to hear this live, I can imagine it going for ages.

At the end Bryden whispers;

I used to be handsome, I used to be good looking

Now I clean the table, once I've done the cooking

Another hypnotic bass line carries Escalation and there is so much space that allows Bryden to bring in melodica, synth effects and to sing a beautiful catchy and dreamy melody. 

At Home I am a Leader has a space dub feel to it, but there is a catchy little synth riff going on, Bryden's vocals are deep at times, hanging sweetly at others.

 I fell for New Hair New Me instantly when It came out as a single in March. It's warm, gooey, dreamy and catchy pop music. Everything hangs on a loose funky bass; beats, handclaps, ukulele drifts in and out, a dreamy synth riff, vocals that are sleepily whispered at times, addictively melodic in a playful sing-song-y way at others. 

Sometimes the lyrics are easy to make out, other times they are blurred in the perfect way. The groove, feel and melody are more important.

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So yeah, I mentioned that post pub, couldn't get in the club vibe earlier. With Ego Hit Bryden creates something that wouldn't sound out of place at somewhere like Optimo. It's super dreamy again, the synths sound sublime, the bass and beats are super cool and Bryden sounds like he has been recorded sleeping and dreaming. Rather gorgeous and trippy.

Mother Father is more dreamy gorgeousness while Jargon Jones and Jones is built around a hypnotic little keyboard riff and has a dub-space feel it that Bryden has perfected.

Don't want to stay in, I want to out

Don't want to stay in, want to shake it all about

If Bryden was going out, then you'd imagine he'd want to go to a club playing something like Come Inside with its layers of grooves, beats, psychedelic effects and vocals that range from dreamy harmonies to deep voiced speech. I love the way the song just takes off on one at 2 minutes 42 and then drops to percussion and Bryden before going off on a groove again. 

Closing with Big Companies, Large Tentacles, with some kind of I Feel Love synth bass groove going on, Eyes of Others takes you deep into the heart of his trip. Don't hold on, let yourself go as it veers off into psychedelic acid techno territory. You won't want it to end, but sadly it does. Again, I can imagine this being extended and being beautifully wild when played live. The video is trippy as f**k!

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I tried to love myself

So I could love you

There is a joyful and refreshing playfulness throughout the album with grooves, riffs, melodies, vocals, synth sounds, effects and beats. Bryden has been in and out of bands for almost two decades, but he has conjured up quite the debut album!

And if you like the album, why not snap up a super cool Eyes of Others t-shirt from the brilliant We Are 1 of 100.

cdd

Introducing - Eyes of Others

 

Photo by Christopher Espinosa Fernadez

New Hair New Me by Eyes of Others is the best new song I've heard in ages. I fell for it instantly. It's warm, gooey, dreamy and catchy pop music. When I fall for a song in this way, I play it on repeat ... for days. 

Even though I've had New Hair New Me on a loop, playing half a dozen times in a row on at least three occasions, the beautiful thing about this song is that I still find so much in it. I love how fresh it continues to feel, I keep going back for more.

John Bryden (AKA Eyes of Others) leaves loads of space in this single. Everything hangs on a loose funky bass; beats, handclaps, ukulele drifts in and out, a dreamy synth riff, vocals that are sleepily whispered at times, addictively melodic in a playful sing-song-y way at others. 

Sometimes the lyrics are easy to make out, other times they are blurred in the perfect way, the groove, feel and melody being more important.

The accompanying video also has loads of space. Bryden wanders round snow filled landscapes in Norway, down roads, on frozen lakes, wading through drifts, diving headfirst into deep snow, having fun making snow angels and clutching on to his beloved synth.

The single is out now and Eyes of Others self titled album will be out on Heavenly Recordings on May 19th.

Read on for an interview with John.

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EF - I've only just discovered Eyes of Others, but you have been releasing music sporadically (in the form of singles and EP's) under this guise since 2017. You're now ready to release an album, did you have a plan? Or have things just got to this stage pretty naturally?

Now that I think about it, I’ve been making music for about 20 years and only now is my debut album about to be released….so really I’m disgusted with myself and my poor planning.

Where have I been all my life?

EF - I love the way you describe your sound as 'post-pub, couldn't get in the club music' - there is a real dreamy quality to New Hair New Me. Did you find that sound from late nights? Did you/do you have a favourite pub/club?

Hmmm it’s hard to trace where exactly a sound comes from but there’s probably some truth in that as I’ve had a few late nights in my time.

But I don’t drink anymore. I just stay home and eat biscuits so I think some sort of home-biscuit-isolation aesthetic permeates the track too.

My favourite pub is the Regent Bar in Abbyhill, Edinburgh. It’s pretty chilled and friendly.

Earlier on in the life of Eyes of Others you were remixed by the late great Andrew Weatherall. Did you learn anything from the way he remixed I See You In The Shrubs? Did that, or any other remixes, give you any new ideas on how to approach creating music?

Yeah for sure. I remember listening to it for the first time and thinking it was a total curve ball. It was like trying to learn a new language, re many listens. 

Once I got to grips with it I was in awe. I  took a lot from Weatherall’s approach with regards to my own music - not to sit still and don’t just give people what you think they want. 

His remix gave me something I didn’t know I wanted. That’s what it’s all about for me really, when something comes along and just shatters what you think you know and opens doors to other worlds.

EF - Do you play everything on your singles to date and forthcoming album? Do you have a favourite instrument?

In the main I played most of the instruments on the record. And there’s some drum programming there too. Stuart Evans (formerly of Green Door Studio Glasgow, now operating at Green Door West - west as in California) mixed and co-produced the record. So he helped tighten up a lot of the demos with some of his own playing.

For me playing an instrument feels like a car that continually won’t start, so Stuart helped massively there. I should perhaps focus and practice more but I do enjoy jumping around various instruments - just picking up whatever and trying to get a tune out of it in that moment because it feels right for the track.

I got an old harmonium recently. I am terrible at it. It’s my favourite.

EF - Will you have a band for live dates? And can we expect some more to be announced?

At the moment there’s two of us playing live. There’s are more dates to be announced but we have the following:

03 March - The Social London

11 March - YES, Manchester (supporting H. Hawkline)

13 March - Hug and Pint, Glasgow (supporting H. Hawkline) 

30 April - Sounds from the Other City, Salford

27 May - Sea Change Weekender, Totnes

9-11 June, Kite Festival, Oxfordshire 

EF - Lastly, what music are you enjoying at present?

I’ve been listening to these tracks a lot; Tom Waits’ Dog Door, Nelly Furtado’s All Good Things Come to an End, and Shu-de’s Aian Dudal.

Thanks to John for taking the time to answer my questions. Check the single, it's sublime. I'll blog on the album when it comes out.

Anything Goes & Everything Flows DJ mix 11 - Andrew Weatherall

Andrew Weatherall seemed to sprinkle magic on absolutely everything he touched. Coming to my attention through Primal Scream's seminal 1991 album Screamadelica, Weatherall's taste was cool and unique. If he loved something, if he thought it was interesting - then he was all in.

This resulted in him working with an incredible range of bands and artists through his career. From bands at their peak, to new bands breaking through. Old friends and new friends.

His talent and taste was well supported by labels like Heavenly Recordings, recognised by peers and worshipped by devoted fans.

In short, Weatherall was special. A visionary. He heard things in songs that us mere mortals couldn't. Or at least we couldn't until he got his hands on them and remixed them. 

On the second anniversary of his death, I found myself checking Twitter for tributes and fans posting their favourite Weatherall moments. Leading to me going down a delightful Andrew Weatherall rabbit hole for a few hours and clicking on some remixes that I hadn't heard before. As well as old favourites.

So for my regular Anything Goes & Everything Flows 60-minute mixes I've compiled one of Weatherall mixes. Only it's gone way beyond 60-minutes. That's probably apt as Andrew Weatherall was a guy who didn't believe in boundaries.

I believe in you, I've got no bounds

As mentioned in previous blogs. I started the 60-minute mixes based on favourite pubs in Glasgow like The Variety Bar and McChuills. I think this would go down a storm on a Friday/Saturday night in either.

I hadn't heard a number of these songs/remixes before. I particularly love the Silver Apples song, while both The Asphodells songs are fantastic and I'm exploring them a little more. Elsewhere long-time favourite bands of mine are well represented. 

Enjoy. Search for Everything Flows DJ mix 11 - Andrew Weatherall remixes on Spotify, or CLICK HERE

I Heard Wonders (Andrew Weatherall Instrumental Mix) - David Holmes

2013 (Andrew Weatherall Dub) - Primal Scream

Another Lonely City - The Asphodells (Andrew Weatherall & Timothy J Fairplay)

101 (Andrew Weatherall Intensity Mix) - Finitribe

Make It Right (Andrew Weatherall Vocal Remix) - Frank Butters Presents

Edge Of Wonder (Andrew Weatherall Remix) - Silver Apples

Wide Eyed (Andrew Weatherall Remix) - The Horrors

Feathers - Andrew Weatherall

Only Love Can Break Your Heart (Andrew Weatherall Mix) - Saint Etienne

Hallelujah (Club Mix by Andrew Weatherall & Paul Oakenfold) - Happy Mondays

Mainia Theme (Andrew Weatherall Remix) - Hardway Brothers

Restless (Andrew Weatherall Remix) - New Order

A Love From Outer Space - Version 2 - The Asphodells (Andrew Weatherall & Timothy J Fairplay)

Come Together - Primal Scream

Silver Dollar Moment

I always intend to blog about every album I buy or check out, but that never happens. I tend to write feature length blogs going into every song - so that can take quite some time!

So I do intend to write some shorter snapshot blogs on bands, albums, EP's and songs this year.........here is the first.

One band who have been on my radar for a while is The Orielles who have just released their debut album Silver Dollar Moment on Heavenly Recordings. Two of the band are still teenagers, with guitarist Henry set to sit his A-Levels this year if their schedule allows. Singer and bassist Esme studies English Literature in Manchester while her sister and drummer Sidonie still works in a Post Office in Liverpool.

These days it is rare and refreshing to see and hear such a young band (the drummer is still only 17!) receiving the backing of an established indie label. Heavenly are really behind The Orielles and so, it would see, is a network of record shops, indie loving journalists, promoters and fans.

It is pretty easy to hear why. Silver Dollar Moment is one of those albums that captures a band at just the right time. Everything about it seems right - the songs, playing, the in-jokes, references, song titles, sound and production.....

Dive in and listen to the chiming reverb laden guitars, cool and a times ferocious beats, groovy bass lines and crystal vocals. There is so much to love about The Orielles and Silver Dollar Moment - they can play and they can groove, listen to outro instrumental to Let Your Dogtooth Grow which builds to a great wee riff and repeated chorus

Elsewhere Mango is power indie jangly pop with a lovely bit of hammond/keys coming in towards the end. I Only Bought It For The Bottle arrives at the chorus in under a minute and it lifts the song superbly. Many of the songs contain brilliant dreamy little backing vocal coo's and ooh's, the band let things flow naturally. I guess that is the best thing about the album - it all sounds so natural.

The Orielles play Mono Cafe Bar in Glasgow on Thursday. Unfortunately I'll be on a train back from London. I think it could well be one of the gigs of the year.