Water From Your Eyes, an experimental indie pop duo based in Brooklyn, has just released Everyone’s Crushed. This is their first release with Matador Records. Drawing inspiration from a wide range of influences, including 80s synth-pop, experimental electronica, and dreamy shoegaze, they’ve crafted their own musical landscape that defies genre. Rachel Brown and Nate Amos’ lyricism allow the listener to explore them with their own imagination. Their obscure lyrics are delivered with dead-panned sarcasm over a myriad of sounds. With their captivating melodies, and meticulously crafted production, Water From Your Eyes has carved out a distinct musical identity. They’ve been compared to other art-rockers like Dry Cleaning, St. Vincent and Sonic Youth.
Structure: This song shares the same name as their last album, released in 2021. This opening track is a jittery introduction of what’s to come.
Barely: This is my favorite song on the album, featuring a shaker, wobbly key samples and guitar squelches that come together in a satisfying way. It’s a collage of musical styles from classic rock to dance music. Though the lyrics are abstract, as expected, the band says the song is loosely about “futile attempts at attaining the unattainable.” In their own way they’re expressing their thoughts on late-stage capitalism.
Out There: In this song, amidst a pulsating bass and synths, Brown skillfully weaves together a mishmash of words. Phrases like “Track free mend three bend feed knee hands scram mud draft drag…” flow from their mouth, establishing a unique rhythmic pattern. The music is made up of various components that merge and transform into something entirely fresh and distinct.
Open: This song throws us into an eerie pause from the chaos from the last track. The lyrics are barely audible through the squealing, distorted guitar. The song devolves into layers of digital noise. The lyrics convey some sense of conviction and optimism, encouraging listeners to let go and embrace all the possibilities that lie ahead.
Everyone’s Crush: Welcome to the title track, this song begins with the lines I’m with everyone I love and everything hurts / I’m in love with everyone and everything hurts / I’m with everyone I hurt and everything’s love. The song continues with Brown creating a variety of sentences from similar phrases. The song developed into a cacophony of sounds and guitar distortions that modulate from the left to the right.
True Life: This is another stand-out track for me. The song concludes with a verse about the song itself, recounting the band’s unsuccessful endeavor to get permission from Neil Young to incorporate the lyrics from “Cinnamon Girl”. They maneuvered around legal issues by paraphrasing the lyrics instead.
Remember Not My Name: This song marks the descent of the album, it slows down the pace and prepares us for the end. The production skillfully balances electronic elements with organic instrumentation. The pulsating beats and synths are masterfully fused with delicate guitar riffs and subtle percussion.
14: This song resembles a classic ballad, the atmospheric instrumentation and production create an enchanting mood. The song captures your attention through its haunting musicality. It leaves the listeners yearning for a musical climax but remains consistently sustained.
Buy My Product: To close out the album, the last song begins with “there are no happy endings”. This song is driven by the rhythm section, particularly the catchy bass line. Their witty lyrics deliver commentary on consumerism and its pervasive influence on society. They challenge the notion of personal fulfillment through material possessions, highlighting the emptiness that can accompany an excessive focus on material things.
It’s unclear if there is much meaning to Water From Your Eyes lyrics, but they’re certainly up for interpretation. With their vague lyrics and layers of sounds, this album should require multiple plays, as each play reveals new layers and hidden subtleties. The music is characterized by lush synth textures, pulsating beats, and ethereal melodies, creating a captivating sonic collage that immerses the listener in a dreamlike atmosphere. Their songs sort of evoke feelings of dissociation, where the listener can easily get lost. Obscure lyrics, ethereal melodies and meticulous production give Water From Your Eyes a distinct sound, which in this project they’ve settled more into.
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