EYE ~ DON'T SLEEP

The notoriously bad English weather tempted volume to it, their Blues in opulent again and again dramatic of song to express. Thus it seems to be also with the English trio Eye, its tendency to drama and Melodrama moves it into the proximity of Scott Walker, Coldplay and also Radiohead. In addition, the ten songs on their debut Don't Sleep witness from elegance, raisedness and depth. Richard Hammond, singer and head that volume, Simon Swarbrick (related to Dave Swarbrick of Fairport Convention) and Andy Trimm convinces us that one does not want at all to sleep, to only hear in order their music although “Don't Sleep is quite suitable for night-sleeping time”. (8 out of 10)

Reviewed at Swiss Records by Robert Pally, SWITZERLAND

Three English gentlemen Rick Hammond, Simon Swarbrick and Andy Trimm are Eye. Don’t Sleep could have been a fashionably folky album, given the sweeping exchanges of strings and acoustic undercurrents. However each of the ten tracks here, provides a lush canvas of stadium influenced ambience. There’s a rock core to their work, particularly via the percussion, but there’s also an intricate collection of carefully timed movements and pulsing instrumental loops. Richard Hammond (not the Top Gear presenter I might add) supplied the vocals, which are pitch perfect and attractively familiar – there’s the flair of Thom Yorke and the smoother soul of Guy Garvey woven in there, but with a quieter, less dramatic timbre. The production is immaculate and even as the songs meander, there’s enough to capture the imagination at almost every turn. (MMMM)

Reviewed at Music-Dash by Parker Knoll, UK

An impressively accomplished and well-crafted debut. Eye comprise of three musicians - lead singer Rick Hammond, guitarist Simon Swarbrick and drummer Andy Trimm - who all hail from England and cite the likes of Jethro Tull and Fairport Convention as influences (though the nod to Fairport Convention is perhaps somewhat obligatory, given that Simon Swarbrick is the cousin of Fairport Convention's Dave Swarbrick). The group's label, Pink Hedgehog, are clearly a patient bunch - it's apparently almost ten years since Eye released any material through them - but on the evidence of Don't Sleep, the wait seems to have been well worth it. Whilst there are easy comparisons to be made between the Englishness of Eye's sound and the likes of The Doves and Elbow at their most contemplative, the album itself is reminiscent of It's Heavy In Here by the wonderful Eric Matthews. Understated but assured and lovingly crafted throughout, Don't Sleep has that ever-elusive quality of, having seemingly almost passed you by on first listen, seeping into your unconscious to a degree that forces you back for more without you quite grasping what it is you're going back for. Once you have returned for more though, the beauty of tracks such as 'Sheep', 'No More Plastic' and 'Navigator' becomes apparent, and after several listens you're well and truly absorbed by what Eye have done with Don't Sleep. An intriguing gem.

Reviewed at Subba-Cultcha by Philip Goodfellow, UK

Resting easily in the fine British tradition of off-beat British psychedelic pop, Eye are a mesmersing trio of sophisticates whose crafted mini-epics have set the controls for the heart of the stunning. Assuming your personal musical poisons are poured from the jugs of Radiohead, Doves and Elbow, then Eye will make the perfect nightcap. Don’t Sleep is so stunningly brittle you fear for it. Musically it perhaps leans more toward the Elbow school of achingly moving songcraft, but vocally it’s delivered with all the spinetingling fragility of Thom Yorke. There’s a foreboding and sense of impending doom in the overwhelming album opener ‘Sheep’ that is breathtaking. But the blissed out pop swirl of ‘Fading Out’ suggests there are multi-coloured lights at the end of the tunnel. Fans of leftfield intelligent music will clamour for Don’t Sleep due early in 2009 on the Pink Hedgehog label. That’s enough recommendation in itself, but absorb yourselves in the strangely uplifting pain of ‘Waster’ and there’s no way back. A stunner this one.

Reviewed in Fuse by Andy Tibbs, UK

I thought marginally of No Man, of Jeff Buckley, of The Engineers, of Sigur Ros, of Slowdive, I thought of the past (the remarkable ‘Andy Trim’s House’), I thought most of all of Radiohead but a different kind of Radiohead looking through a prism to a brighter future. I noted the sweeping 60s string arrangement on ‘Sweep’ and how the band could stretch a song to 7 minutes like a mystic spaced out ‘Day in The Life’ for the 21st century (‘That is Not What This Is’) and be economical (the 3 minutes of ‘Sleep It Off’ which could have been a candidate for a melodic moment on King Crimson’s Thrak). I noted the names I’d heard before: bass player Alan Strawbridge, multi instrumentalist Simon Swarbrick, nephew of Dave, who is responsible for the string arrangements and I also admired the musicianship of the less familiar names and the gorgeous production (by the way Andy Trim is the drummer and, with guitarist Richard Hammond and Swarbrick Eye’s songwriter). Finally, I thought this could be Pink Hedgehog’s best release ever. To prove it ‘Navigator’ is the sort of song Greg Lake or John Wetton would have loved to sing during one of those early King Crimson melodic moments. Quite remarkable, watch out for Eye when the CD is officially released on 23rd February.

Reviewed in Zeitgeist by Phil Jackson, UK

Is this band of interest to Acid Dragon readers? Well, if you enjoy "intelligent pop" then Simon Felton’s Pink Hedgehog label is one you should definitely check out. But Eye is more than intelligent pop. If you think Radiohead is progressive then you will find their music deeply interesting and satisfying. If you have heard of the TV programme Dragon’s Den you may have heard of Hamfatter, another band emanating from Pink Hedgehog who actually tamed that particular dragon, if not, not to worry. Think of No Man, a bit of Jeff Buckley but most of all of Radiohead but a different kind of Radiohead looking through a prism to a brighter future. Admire the sweeping 60s string arrangement on ‘Sheep’ and how the band stretch a song to 7 minutes like a mystic spaced out ‘Day in The Life’ for the 21st century (‘That is Not What This Is’) and be economical (the 3 minutes of ‘Sleep It Off’ which could have been a candidate for a melodic moment on King Crimson’s Thrak). Note also that multi instrumentalist Simon Swarbrick, nephew of Dave, famed for his membership of Fairport Convention, is responsible for the string arrangements. Don’t Sleep could be Pink Hedgehog’s best (and most successful) release ever. To prove it ‘Navigator’ is the sort of song Greg Lake or John Wetton would have loved to sing during one of those early King Crimson melodic moments. Make sure that you are first to hear the remarkable talent of Eye when the CD is officially released on 23rd February.

Reviewed in Acid Dragon by Phil Jackson, FRANCE