Early last year, Eyestrings sent us a copy of their amazing 2004 debut, "Burdened Hands". It quickly made it into my iPod, but it never got the treatment. Pretty soon, their sophomore release will be available (slated for a Sept. 05 release) so you prog fans have just enough time to fully digest this substantial debutr before progressing any further. Click "read more" below for the review and song samples.Band:Eyestrings
Title: Burdened Hands (debut)
Label: Split Difference Records
Release Date: January, 2004
Produced and Recorded by: Eyestrings, drums recorded at Windfall Recording (NY), mastering Jonathan Wyner @ MWorks Mastering (MA)
Musicians: Ryan Paramenter (voice, snth, mellotron, trombone), Alan Rutter (guitars, supporting vocals), Mathew Kennedy (bass, Moog), Bob Young (drums, percussion)
by Mitch Phillips
Prog fans have taken a lot of crap from the glossy fashion/music press over the last twenty years; their heroes have been repeatedly maligned as 'inexcusably pompous’ (Jethro Tull), ‘appealing only to male sci-fi bores’ (Yes), ‘bereft of sex and emotion’ (Kansas), and ‘(shunning) blues-based rock in favor of bombastically reinterpreting classical works’(Emerson, Lake & Palmer). And all those thread-bare, regurgitated gems came from just one issue of Maxim Blender (Sept. 2003 "50 Worst Artists In History").
But just because you can't sell tampons or tennis-shoes with King Crimson's "Larks Tongue In Aspic Part III" or club-dance to Yes' "Five Percent For Nothing" doesn't mean it isn't worthwhile. Prog fans know their music exists despite its lack of commercial appeal or the approval of the majority of rock fans who seem stuck in a perpetual cycle of blues-based revivalism. Regardless of what Rolling Stone, Maxim Blender or Spin try to sell you to go with an expensive pair of pants, there are rock bands out there who celebrate the depth, complexity and the adventurous nature of music for its own sake.
Eyestrings is just such a band.
"Burdened Hands" is a significant debut from this Detroit-based neo-progressive quartet. Their performance is dynamic, rhythmically challenging and technically proficient. The music tends toward the grand and theatrical ("Recovery", "Funnel", "Only A Body") but can be dark and brooding as well ("Nothing" "Empty Box") and even show a sense of humor, something prog bands have often been accused of sorely lacking.
This disc caters to that rare, patient listener who's willing to suspend final judgment until the entire record has run its course - or even much later just to make sure it all sank in. The tracks range in duration from a rock-typical 3'35" to a prog-epic 12'37", with a grand total of one hour and six minutes of music packed into ten tracks. Though its undoubtedly progressive in nature, it's not entirely unapproachable; tracks such as "Itchy Tickler" and "Slackjaw" will appeal to those who appreciate a good tune as much as a clever arrangement and top-notch musicianship.
Eyestrings owe their particular sound to the punctuated rhythms of composer Ryan Parmenter's piano & keyboard work and the exploratory, intrepid guitar lines of Alan Rutter. Bassist Mathew Kennedy and drummer Bob Young support the adventure with the harmonic competency and mechanical dependability expected of a solid, progressive rhythm section.
The band formed in 2001 when Parmenter, Kennedy and Young (formerly of Discipline) drafted guitarist Alan Rutter from Los Angeles (RCA Project) to finish the new line-up. Their debut was released in January of 2004 and performed live at a show with local prog contemporaries Space Nelson and Tiles (Ed: really wish I wouldn't have missed that one).
Currently, Eyestrings is in the studio working on a follow-up (due out September of 2005) and expect to perform a series of live dates following the release.
Track Listing:
- Recovery - A grandiose piano punctuated by guitar riffs reminiscent of Steve Hackett opens this thoughtful, ten-minute epic about the pain of recovery and the power of denial.
- Itchy Tickler - Eyestrings flair for the theatrical meets Yes' flair for obtuse, interpretive lyrics. Bouncy walking beat marks a memorable contrast on this record.
- Dead Supermen - What might have gone through the mind of Supermen George Reeves and Christopher Reeve, or any of us who've lived long enough to look back on our glory days with a wistful sniff.
- Anachromism - Synthesized gothic darkness about, uh, about ..... (thanks for printing those lyrics backwards!) ... about six minutes long. Read the lyrics at your own risk - mirror not included.
- Funnel - This reminds me of "Fragile"-era Yes meets "Drama"-era Yes. A solo piano intro drifts in seamlessly from the previous track and gives way to a very staccato melody that chimes in unison with the instruments. BTW, the Drama-era Yes line-up, with Geoff Downes and John Wetton, is doing a tour this year - but then, so is Eyestrings. Better plan to see both.
- Just A Body - Ryan Parmenter's voice takes on a Bowie-esque quality on this track that presumes mortality is the be-all and end-all of human existence. You're nothing but cold meat on a hard slab, boy'o. Judging from what your life's been like up 'til now, what did you expect?
- Slackjaw - Ryan Parmenter channels the voice of Tom Waits, who channels the ghost of Frank Zappa in this polyrhythmic waltz for a penny-arcade - at least that's the way I hear it in my head.
- Nothing - ' And nothing happened yesterday / and nothing happened today / and there's nothing you can say / ... and the things you thought you earned are flushed away ' Story of my life set to a brooding electric piano and a vocal delivery that sounds like it came from a handful of Vicodin washed down with a bottle of cough-syrup.
- Time Will Tell - A return to the punctuated rhythms. Features the psychotic guitar shreddings of Alan Rutter.
- Empty Box - Sad epic about, if I had to guess, a dreamer who's fallen in love with a pretty face on the idiot box.
• • •
Visit Eyestrings.com
Check out more progressive music @ Progarchives.com
-- Mitch
Comments