There's no clever angle in my reivew of the new album from Eyelids. This is a record with straightforward appeal, and one which works spectacularly well. A Colossal Waste of Light, out now, updates what we used to call college rock for a new century. And with production by Peter Buck (R.E.M.), the band's credentials here in 2023 are exceptional.
"Crawling Off Your Pages" roars with promise like something from Velvet Crush, or a Smithereens single, while "They Said So" rides a great guitar riff forward over exemplary rhythm section work. The bassist here is Victor Krummenacher of Camper Van Beethoven and fans of that band may find things to like here. The material here is direct and unironic, with the chiming chords and big hooks taking a listener back to an earlier era when bands like those I've mentioned were in their prime. Eyelids are hardly a retro act, but it's clear that too few other groups are pursuing rock like this these days.
A Colossal Waste of Light is full of easy-to-enjoy stuff, with numbers like "I Can't Be Told" and "Lyin' in Your Tomb" hitting a real sweet spot for me. There's a premium placed on melodic punch here which I really do appreciate, while the playing is suitably precise and smart, with a lot of heart creeping through the seams. Eyelids offer a more robust version of what we heard from producer Peter Buck's band, circa Document, for example, and a listener can see why the guitar legend was likely drawn to the producer's chair for this one. Still, the tunes here are uniformly sharp and there's not anything wasted on A Colossal Waste of Light.
A Colossal Waste of Light by Eyelids is out now. More details below.
[Photo: John Clark]