Andrew Danso

Shield Your Eyes shoot themselves in the foot. So wrapped in their disharmony and discontent, when they decide to put their minds to structure and tune, they tend to produce moments of magic. Mellow numbers Glad and Crowd work excellently, because they have simple explanations, but more importantly they have the inner workings of heart, and tangibility, something that the listener can really touch, and get their hands dirty with. Alternatively, the more hectic, math-orientated material rubs off as something incoherently predictable. It precisely washes into nothing, despite its crashing, whacking and scientific zaniness. A more indie approach to Dillinger Escape Plan, Shield Your Eyes are difficult to understand, but encroach a sense of arrogant appreciation and misplaced pomposity through their mathematic romance.

It’s easy to be churlish in a discourse about the math genre, and there are a few tricks Shield Your Eyes pull throughout playback. Their production is clever, by way of spontaneity – it’s all been taped in a hotel room, which gives the band a vintage gradient to mix into their hyper modern vibe. The tunes themselves recall bluesy and American licks, which contrast radiantly with the menacing nature of the tracks. Another is the precision of the albums pacing, which batters you to begin with, but fleets into dreaminess and idle, before plundering manically down the spiral.

6/10 Powerplay issue #138