by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
The relentless creative output of Brooklyn’s Water From Your Eyes and This Is Lorelei is something to treasure, an endless source of inspiration from the minds of Nate Amos and Rachel Brown. While the musicians have both been busy between these bands, Thanks For Coming, and beyond, a new split single has emerged, capturing the first new music from WFYE since last year’s incredible All A Dance and the first output for This Is Lorelei since, well… March. With Amos the primary composer of both projects, Break / Freaking Me In, highlights the duality of his efforts and even more so, the differences between them.
Water From Your Eyes have emerged a staple of the Brooklyn DIY scene, a band that pushes the “indie rock” tag into the unknown with electronic dance beats and hypnotic repetition. Brown’s voice and Amos’ guitar are the human elements of their sound, but their motorik grooves and club friendly rhythms swarm in the name of the digital age. “Break,” a preview of the band’s upcoming album (due out later this year) is a mesmerizing near ten minute odyssey of manipulated electronic bass and fractured melodies, an experimental journey into the recesses of skittering drones and jittery post-punk informed pop. There’s nothing quite like Water From Your Eyes, and as the band continue to push the envelope, all possibilities remain open.
This Is Lorelei, the nuanced and textured solo project of Amos, shifts shapes more than most. It’s progressive in nature for that reason, but the sound from release to release is anyone’s guess as the project is known for its undefinable trajectory and Amos’ penchant for subverting expectations. On “Flip” we’re given what sounds to be a field recording with dissonant noise washing in and out in the distance, like an alarm blaring through fog from miles away. It clears the palette after “Break” and sets us up for the brilliantly deconstructed “Freaking Me In.” Deep bass and backmasked rhythms work together to set the cool ambiance, a celestial structure for Amos’ warbling voice and computerized machinations to lushly envelope. The song warps itself into one unpredictable moment after the next, never moving to obvious resolutions, constantly pushing but remaining silky and strangely smooth.