by Layton Guyton
Everyone’s Crushed, the latest from Water From Your Eyes is an addictively strange record. The duo, Nate Amos and Rachel Brown are deep in the groove, further exploring their style of deconstructed music, and coming back with something as inscrutable as ever. This is their sixth or maybe seventh full length release as a group (who’s counting?) including a great covers album. It is also their first for Matador, and their “major label debut” of sorts. In an interview with WVCW Radio, Brown and Amos were asked about the difference of working with Matador vs independently and revealed that this album had been done since around 2021, written near the same time as their last full length, Structure. This is remarkable as both projects are overflowing with ideas. They likely have another release or two in their pocket at this point, they seem like a band restless with creativity.
Many albums are built around an extremely specific palette of sounds, each track drawing from an established collection of instruments and tones to build a sort of world. On Everyone’s Crushed, Water From Your Eyes completely flip this idea of continuity. The instrumentation of the record is straightforward, most songs contain electric guitar, bass, and drums. However, rather than sounding familiar, consistent and human, they are otherworldly, as if played by a computer, or sampled from a corrupted .wav file. It is hard to visualize people playing any of the music on Everyone’s Crushed, which is disarming for music coming from a quote unquote band. This is especially cool as Water From Your Eyes is a fantastic live group and translates their songs pretty faithfully into a live setting. Check out their recent Audiotree session or catch them on tour for proof.
In addition, the range of influences and styles present on the record is impressive. Hardcore influenced bass lines and tight drum loops drive things forward, while orchestral samples and synths weave in and out of the mix. Lead single “Barley” borrows from dance music, with its breakbeat and looped rhythmic vocals, while the dream pop haze of “Remember Not My Name” is reminiscent of a Broadcast song. “Open” is a dread-filled sea of distortion and feedback, similar to Alex G’s recent “Blessing”. The last track, funnily named “Buy My Product” serves as a palette cleanser. It stands out as probably the most straightforward song on the record, singsong vocals colliding with a bouncing rhythm section. It sounds almost like they found one of those oddly catchy preset songs on an old Casio keyboard and added some vocals to it.
On top of all the music, Brown’s words sit in the spotlight, center stage, daring you to find meaning in them. They deliver lines like “I’m ready to throw you up / how many is 14” or “she’s drowning in people / always on the way back / where I am yeah I have a plan to flee,” without adornment, direct and pointed, but what is their point? Is it stream of consciousness, recordings of the first words that came out of their mouth, an elaborate commentary on something, or an inside joke about how obscure they can make their lyrics without anyone batting an eye? It’s doubtful that anyone “gets it,” but regardless, they’ve tapped into something compelling. It is maybe the most crucial piece of the beautiful and unknowable Water From Your Eyes vibe — their words demand attention and then ask “what are you listening to?”
It is difficult to draw any direct comparisons, past or present, so unique is the record! Water From Your Eyes expertly dance between subversive and catchy, to produce something totally original. Buy their product!