This week, people are desperately trying to save rock and roll, but they’re looking in the wrong direction. No, not that Direction! However, I’d like to think what I’m doing right now is more powerful than merely listening to one record. Okay, so I’m listening to one record, but I’ve also listened to several in the past week. However, this one particular record, reminds me of all the reasons why I do what I do in my spare time. This morning, I met The Fleeting Ends and their latest full-length, Our Eyes Are Peeled.
Although said to be inspired from music in the 80’s and late 90’s, I feel as though The Fleeting Ends pulled from the 1960’s. More precisely, I’m thinking of every hipster’s wet dream, The Beatles. “Operator,” reminds me of the string-driven “Eleanor Rigby.” Heavily prominent – keys, violins and easy-going harmonies; grace under four minutes. Not exactly a romance themed tune, “I Feel Cursed,” takes me back to 1964 when The Wonders released, “That Thing You Do.” The playfulness that has gone into the album is reminiscent of an era of innocence and of course, rock and roll.
Said to be comparable to The Killers, I’m arguing otherwise, and suggest that Our Eyes Are Peeled is a record that is more Stroke-esque (First Impressions of Earth). It’s pop-rock that is grounded outside of its time. Consider the song, “Sing, Groupie.” Do bands even still have groupies? (They do, they’re just called something else – fangirls.) But it is that kind of vernacular in the lyricism that immediately pulls me out of today. Undoubtedly, this is my favorite recording because its energy puts me on the barricade, with my bra ready in hand.
Specific elements of rock and roll have been pulled from every era and mixed into this delicious soup that is Our Eyes Are Peeled. Everyone should then divert their attention towards The Fleeting Ends.
Our Eyes Are Peeled dropped on March 26th, and appears courtesy of Milkboy Records.
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