Unburdening themselves with the tales of unattainable feats, lost connections and societal degeneration, the Minnesotan Pop buffs Early Eyes offer us a dose of the bitter truth emblazoned by delusional optimism with their debut LP Look Alive!
Originating from the halls of a Minneapolitan college campus, these emotionally engaged Post-Genre freedom fighters serve us a constantly mutating experience, through their efforts to chase the thrills and spills of what feels like an alternate dimensional soundscape.
Kicking off the overall experience of LA! we found that the overarching musical journey to be pretty standard in its endeavour to create the best highs and lows imaginable, yet we believe the beginning of the albums progression would of greatly benefitted from a more stripped back approach to its overall production value, due to the acute yearning for painkillers setting in while enduring Early Eye’s several iterations of maximalist climaxes. Although instances of ear-splitting glitches bordered on the realms of overkill, which rapidly ravaged much hope of redemption or ability to get through the entire album, we found much more pleasant peyote-laced-like tracks to inspire a greater listening experience, including the band’s latest single ‘Dying Plant’ and the ominously named ‘Trust Fall’.
In the initial stages of exploring ‘Dying Plant’ we came to find that the track represented something of an enigma to us, due to the intro reminding us of an indie adaptation of Royal Coda covering the Sugababes 2006 single ‘Red Dress’; although such a comparison provides a fleeting hint of delight for a noughties pop classic, the progressive transformation into a truly intriguing blend of indie, synth and emo sensibilities, seemed to perfectly attach itself to the lyrical interpretation of social sustenance depravation through the metaphor of wilting plants.
Whereas ‘Trust Fall’ seemed to emphasise the strength needed to yield to the elements, in order to stumble upon the support system ready to catch them when they least expect it; although its deep rooted meaning is one that can transcend all facets of humanity, the most interesting aspect of the track comes from its connection to the rest of the LP. Look Alive! has a definite affinity to the injection of hallucinogenic properties, that acts as a sort of amplifier for transcendent emotional outpourings; with this in mind the experience of the album feels like a journey through altered consciousness leading to the eventual comedown, which is exemplified via the inclusion of ‘Trust Fall’ as the final takeaway track due to the potent vulnerability spilling out of every aspect of its runtime.
Overall, the album is an enjoyable collage of sonic disruption peering into several aspects of realities darkest moments in order to find resolution and faith in humanity. From the charming moments of Super Mario-esque sound bites making an appearance when you least expect it, to the delicate pounding soundtrack to an assumed robotic utopia, encased in an 80’s synth rock fantasia; this LP truly is the epitome of having something for everybody, however that’s not to be confused with appealing to everybody’s tastes simultaneously.