“Eyes Around is an echo bouncing off a tumbling wall,” says Donohue. “ We are a hand-print in fresh cement, a new wine, spilled ink, a medium, a fire-starter…”
Michael, front man and lyricist for Eyes Around, describes the band in the same manner he pens lyrics, with metaphors. "I like parables, they keep their meaning guarded for timing's sake." And it's timing that has Michael and his band mates waiting on the release of a project that's taken several years to cultivate. The band is releasing counterpart EP’s this year titled Alpha and Beta, respectively. They serve as a precursor for their forthcoming LP The Voice Inside the Voice, which is slated to drop in 2011 on World Citizen.
Donohue explains, “These songs are a statement that music, art, or any form of revolutionary communication is fueled by something beyond yourself, and it speaks for you.”
Alpha and Beta come complete without any filler, further evidence that this is a band that believes in albums, not just a couple of singles. Fans will be delighted on every single track, as each contains the emotional dynamics and anthemic hooks that Eyes Around excels in delivering. “Bloodshot America,” the first single on Alpha, is a template for what follows--this is a song that is larger than life, a song that will pull you out of your armchair and push you toward action.
“Lyrically, we try to be uplifting, but intense at the same time. It's not a rebel statement, it's anti-political. It empowers people to view themselves as leaders".
These are words that will change you from the inside out. For example, on “Bloodshot America,” the band gives listeners a rousing slap to the face, calling the masses to wake from their slumber of lethargy: Bloodshot America, snuff out your paranoia, peel the scabs from your eyes we're all to blame. Are you washed in the blood? I am washed in the blood… And on “Right as Rain,” they speak of raising awareness for necessary change in our world with sobering sentiments: We're pulling out the winter clothes to market to a place it never snows, a change is coming so get ready for it, the smiler and the waver says that everything around is right as rain, but a change is coming. Finally, “Blackout” is inspired by the NYC blackout of ‘03. It is a singular picture of uniqueness, a reminder that sometimes it takes a bump in the road to unite us as a culture: Now we'll all stay civil and enjoy the night, and nobody's gonna loot anything tonight, we've got the oil in the lanterns for light, there's a million people hanging in the streets tonight, everybody got together for a change tonight.
Eyes Around's lyrics are supported by a musical landscape shaped by Euro-indie overtones on top of an aggressive American backbone, or what Donohue describes as a "European skeleton with American muscle tissue." And to further brand the duality of their sound, the band designed a logo fitting for it's purpose. "The owl was a sketch on a napkin that kept hanging around", Donohue explains. "Owls have an intense demeanor, but are graceful in flight. They also have the ability to navigate perfectly in the dark."
Eyes around has been patiently awaiting this moment, lurking in the quiet cover of anticipation. And like the owl, their stealth will result in the surprise of their listeners. Alpha and Beta are but the quiet approach of crafty wings. But when The Voice Inside the Voice is upon us, there will be no mistaking the identity of the band that has wrapped its talons around us and taken us each captive.
