November 18, 2004

{ The Cinema Eye - Some Nerve }

Here's my PROFESSIONAL ROCK CRITIC REVIEW, in a sentence: Furious, smart and wonderfully melodious; The Cinema Eye deliver a quality dose of uniquely satisfying post-prog punky no-wave on their first full-length album- Some Nerve. Now that I've gotten that out of my system, let me tell you how much I dig this album, without sounding like I have a modern rock dictionary shoved up my ass. Singer Mollie Wells' vocals rule my heart and mind. There's a cloying sweetness to her delivery, coating the bitter pill of distance, neglect and alienation addressed within the song lyrics. She manages to be both wanton and abject, and her style is a welcome change from the confessional sentimentality of the prevailing rock band female-lead-singer stereotype. Her vocals complement perfectly the complex rhythms and time-changes of the various song structures, serving as the melodic bridge between rapid-fire drumming, chattering synth and blaring yet intricate guitar-work. As with most of their lablemates on Sound Virus, The Cinema Eye seem determined to avoid easy classification, drawing from a dozen genres to instinctively create something new. It may seem a bit haphazard at first, but it's truly amazing how well this album works. If I were forced to decipher The Cinema Eye formula in my rock laboratory, I would probably break it down like this- 3 parts delicious math-rock drumming (old-school Big Black/Shellac style) 3 parts Mollie Wells (as characterized above) 2 parts indie-prog guitar stylings 2 parts synthy new-wave 1 part punk venom 1 part saccharine pop A dash of straight-up rock-and-roll Some Nerve is wonderfully un-polished- a more heavy-handed attempt at producing this album may have easily resulted in something overwrought and less listenable. This is particularly the case with any rock album utilizing synth, but here we see it perfectly layered in, almost understated, in complete contrast to the current trend of maxing out your synth for a more "electro" sound. It's a welcome return to the subtle production values I was beginning to feel had become lost in the bombastic new millenium of rock.

» The Cinema Eye at Tag Team media
» Sound Virus Records

By Adam in Music | Comments:

Comments

If you enjoy Some Nerve, checking The Cinema Eye's previous Sound Virus release, A Complete Arsenal, is a must. Though Nerve is satisfying, it feels loose in its presentation where Arsenal EP strikes immediately with the sharpest of epic synth-pop stabs that demand for a shout/sing-along.

But either way, you can't go wrong with The Cinema Eye. Good looking out.

Posted by: -Kierin. at December 7, 2004 7:43 AM