by Stephen Veith (@quakeroats91)
“Eyes Wide” is the first single Philadelphia trio Well Room has released since their debut record, Concordia Pl. That album was a fuzzy, garage rock dream with complementing pop sensibilities; engaging melodies and catchy guitar licks. It has been over a year since that record dropped and “Eyes Wide” is a welcome return to form.
Well Room’s raw vocals and car crash drums have come back yet again to infiltrate your memory and induce nearly uncontrollable head nodding. “Eyes Wide” starts softly with an acoustic guitar line and hushed vocals, only to erupt with strained screams and wailing guitars. Just over three minutes, this song does not water itself down with elongated repetition - it’s straight to business. The syncopated chorus yelps and whispered verses prove catchy and dynamic with a bubbling bass line grounding the urgent guitar work. The song slows into distorted vocals and muddied bass as the song fades into a looped delay pedal. Together, these features culminate in an excellent garage-pop slice of heaven.