Relying less on samples than
Years Not Living
two years prior, the self-produced
I Need New Eyes
finds difficult-to-label electronic experimenter
Larry Gus
(Greek musician
Panagiotis Melidis
) still painting uncommon rhythmic songscapes, this time on a canvas of more comprehendible pop structures. Mixed by fellow experimenter
Alex Epton
(aka
XXXChange
of
Win Win
), the record also features ethereal vocals by Moscow-based
Kate Shilonosova
NV
) on "Belong to Love," an easygoing, synth pop type of tune -- ambient-leaning yet active in percussion in the second half and dotted with dissonant woodwinds and keyboard squawks. For straightforward synth pop, there's also the livelier "A Set of Replies." "NP-Complete" offers a trippier diversion via organ, clattering drums, what appears to be multiple sampled vocalists including a children's chorus, and
Gus
' airy falsetto reaching for the clouds. Elsewhere, "Taking the Personal Away" ups the rhythmic intensity via hyper, layered percussion injected with dripping liquid-like tones and lyrics such as "Now my head is aching with the feelings that you hold" and "Mere illness in summer clothes/I wish all days were cold." It's difficult to know if his stylized lyrics are the result of an intentionally quirky writing style or of being a non-native English speaker, but they suit his deliberately fabricated-sounding music. Fans need not worry; colorful, variously world music-infused, psychedelic, and ultra-rhythmic,
retains
' somewhat warped artfulness, and the relatively more coherent presentation may attract at least a few more willing ears. ~ Marcy Donelson