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.
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.
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!
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
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