Much of Brenda’s new album sounds like it’s coming at you from far away, but that doesn’t negate the immediacy of its complex instrumentals or insistent lyrics. The Portland trio has turned up the pace, freneticism, and polish in Fix Your Eyes, which makes for a perfectly reasonable and celebratory followup to their first full-length release.
With front man and guitarist Josh Loring stationed in New York City, the band is a long-distance effort these days, which accounts for a sound that’s at once scarily synchronized and dreamily distant. One of the most striking developments on Fix Your Eyes is the addition of the Farfisa, a synthy organ manned by keyboardist Peet Chamberlain. These festive choir noises seem to precede the album in the declarative opening act, “G. Coach,” which introduces their counter-intuitive melodics and granular progressions with a light peppering of shuddering tambourine.
“Boxy Music” ramps up the momentum with catchy, rollicking triplets and jazzy sequences. The titular track, “Fix Your Eyes,” has the weary, punchy sound of a song that makes good use of its “whoa’s.” “Hard Pleaser” is probably the most furiously catchy song on the album, but my personal favorite is “Momsdad,” which showcases Loring’s nostalgic voice entreating you to “come back from the dead/to find your house as it was/next to the shed.” Here, in the beginning, you can really hear DJ Moore dissecting his drum sequences. If it helps, just imagine that each of his four limbs is moving completely autonomously behind the drum set, because that’s what actually happens when he’s tapping out those rhythms.
If for some reason you only had time to listen to half of the album, I would stick to these first five songs. To be sure, the second half showcases Brenda’s good qualities, only with a touch more monotony. You’ll probably see what I mean when you listen to “House of Grain,” which is rife with almost Talmudic cadences. “Not My Friends” features a neat, warpy-sounding organ intro (my untrained ear says it’s probably backwards playback), and there are extra syrupy vocals to be found in “Franklin Towers” and “What To Do” (indeed, “defenestration’s not that commonplace,” as the song sweetly suggests). “Jola” wraps things up with more of their curiously backwards-sounding melodies and a healthy dose of relentless drumming.
All in all, Fix Your Eyes is a triumphant compromise between its moody vocals and cerebral sound. Don’t expect to find anything too predictably palatable in between.
Review by Steph Koyfman
