Words by: Summer Hartley
Debuting to the scene with their EP, Explorations, Eyes On Satellites is a band who already have a special place in my heart. A 6-piece post-hardcore melodic band based out of Boston, MA, they explore the dynamics of attachment and self-value through the course of 5 songs.
Eyes On Satellites came to form in the beginning of 2014, starting with a lineup of Danny Looney on bass, Mark Thompson playing drums, Derek D'Angelo rocking the keys, Will Lopez doubled on vocals and guitar, and Dave Longval on vocals. They finished out their lineup by adding Andrew Webster on guitar as they neared the end of finishing Explorations, turning from a 5-piece to a 6-piece. "... we carved out a sound that best reflected all of us... The EP definitely means a lot to us, not just because it's our first EP, but because we created it together," the band states when asked about the course of completing Explorations, which was officially released on January 1st, 2015.
Explorations features 5 songs, narrowed down from 8 original songs they prepared. The EP begins with "Departure", then follows in order with "Dollhouse", "Imperfections", "Currents", and "Visionary". Every song feels as if vocalists Lopez and Longval are serenading you and spitting in your face, alternating as heavy music pumps behind them. While I love the heavy tunes, I would love to hear a bit of a slowdown in their musical feature because they definitely have the skill of lyric writing for it. Even if you don't know the lyrics to their songs, though, you can still jam out. When you learn the lyrics, though, it transcends you to a different level of meaning in the music as you decipher it from "just music" to a song that you can actually develop meaning to, which is what music is all about.
While I enjoy all songs on the debut EP, each holds a different meaning or feeling to me. First off, Departure's fade in to the actual song is the one thing I love most, because a well executed fade in always captures my heart because the hype is unreal in the concert that is my mind. "Visionary" hits me on a personal level, the lyrics truly connecting to my general being, so it's obvious in my connect to that song. My favorite track of all, though, has to go to "Dollhouse" for two reasons:
1. The actual story behind the song, as told from Will Lopez, takes me back to those days of shitty relationships when you try to act like everything is good, when in reality it's a facade. The lyrics execute that in a way that I just connect so well to the song on a level that exceeds any other.
2. The music video for "Dollhouse" is pure gold, in more ways than one. The video is actually a clip taken from a short film called "Paradise", which was directed by a lovely man named Jesse Rosensweet and went on to be shown at several film festivals, including the infamous Sundance Festival. I'm a super geek when it comes to short films, and as soon as I saw the thumbnail for "Dollhouse", I already knew where it was from. The amazing thing is, though, the song meshes so well with the video, that even Lopez was surprised while editing the song over the video. "Throughout the search for something [happy, but robotic and false], I somehow came across 'Paradise'... It was crazy how in sync the short film was with [the song]. I barely had to do any editing," he stated. I may be a bit biased in my case against my love for "Dollhouse", but I don't care. I love the video, I love the lyrics, and I love the song.
"We're now focused on writing more songs and will continue to push ourselves musically to see what we come up with next," the band states about their future, and all I can say is that I am excited to see what comes from these 6 men. Explorations is just that, an exploration. It takes you through so many genres and stages of music that leaves EOS with room to grow and progress down whatever path they choose to take. The EP is definitely solid to me, yet these boys (erhm, men) can progress regardless, and that comes with trial and error, as well as time. These guys have only been together for a year (not even having their full lineup together for that long), and they've already got a well done EP under their belts. They're running the Vans Warped Tour Battle of the Bands 2015, working on new music, and essentially working towards the greatest they could be, one step at a time.
Want to hear more from Eyes On Satellites? Follow them on Twitter at: @EOSatellites, like them on their Facebook, and support them by purchasing their debut EP Explorations on iTunes, Google Play, or AmazonMP3.
Also, go help them play on Vans Warped Tour 2015! Stream the music, share the link on all social media, and spread the word people!
Final Verdict: An upcoming band with not only polite as f*ck band members, but also great potential to take it to the next level as their debut EP shows just how much they'll work for it.
Rating of Explorations: 7.5/10
No comments:
Post a Comment