Review Summary: It’s like we never left.
The 2020’s appear to be a popular comeback decade for many bands once seemingly on the edge of memory. From Hum to Shiner to Deadguy among several others, it’s been made clear that a decade or two out of the studio isn’t enough for a group to rust out of relevance. Now it seems as though the modern turbulence surrounding the nation’s capital, combined with a recent renewed interest in abrasive dance-punk, has sent out a Bat Signal of sorts for yet another band to make a surprising return as well. Upon listening to what they’ve brought however, it quite honestly sounds as though they never left.
When we last heard from Discord outfit Black Eyes they had abruptly split up two months before the release of their sophomore album back in 2004. The band had earned a reputation both live and in studio for their chaotic play-style, incorporating two drummers, two bassists and two vocalists that circled around to compose highly percussive, free form cacophonic rhythm. The semi-argumentative duets of vocalists Hugh McElroy and Daniel Martin-McCormick sound manic to say the least, their lyrics as abstract as they are venomous. The band’s live performances are the stuff of legend, often an improvised pandemonium that reflected the social upheaval around them. Uncomfortable music for uncomfortable times and as such they couldn’t have returned at a more appropriate epoch.
Fellow D.C. legend Ian MacKaye took to the console once again to produce this newest Black Eyes release entitled
Hostile Design, its name taken from architecture designed not to be slept on by the homeless. Despite a lapse in recording that’s old enough to drink, the band’s sound picks up almost exactly where it left off with 2004’s
Cough. Dub-style echo and reverb make their return on tracks like “Burn” and “TomTom”, along with no wave-inspired woodwinds by bassist Jacob Long wailing throughout all six tracks. As always, the twofold drumming power of Mike Kanin and Dan Caldas lies at the nucleus of everything, pumping the band’s vitality like a rapidly pulsating heart.
The trademark dichotomy of Daniel’s high pitched shrieking and Hugh’s more passive delivery exists as competing sermons between two raving street pastors. The vocals remain an acquired taste to some, but those who lived through period contemporaries like The Rapture or Les Savy Fav may find their unorthodox nature strangely nostalgic. International musical themes are also utilized such as recitation of traditional Greek song excerpts on “Burn”, Haitian rara on “TomTom”, and lyrics from a Palestinian folk song on “Pestilence.” Despite these new introductions, the band’s sound is as violently rhythmic and confrontational as it was 21 years ago, aged like a potent liquor, its vexation as flammable as ever before.
Despite its short runtime,
Hostile Design marks a triumphant return if there ever could be for Black Eyes. The music world they left in 2004 was a much different place, but to them the world outside of music has remained just as cold and upsetting. As such, their energy has been reinvigorated and they can now hope to reach a young audience whose likewise visceral disgust at reality necessitates creative channeling, just as Black Eyes once did back then.
