by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
Michael J Thomas is a musical polymath. He can genuinely do it all, and he does it all really well. As a producer and engineer he’s worked together with Ovlov, Maneka, and Mister Goblin as well as Nick Hakim, Jesse And Forever, and Kadhja Bonet, among others. As a musician he’s played with Grass Is Green, Empress Of, and Supervolcano, proving to be an exceptional drummer, bassist, and guitarist. For the better part of the last decade his recorded output has been increasingly dedicated to Twice Eyes, a solo effort that took shape around 2010. Following the release of a compilation collecting the early years of the project, Thomas is moving forward as he continues to experiment with the band’s sound. 2XEYES, due out April 20th (smoke ‘em if you get ‘em), feels both hyper dialed in and diligently structured yet loose and swarming, a signature blend of Thomas’ shoegaze and noise pop meets post-punk aesthetic.
Having shared singles “So Much For” and “The Thing Is…” in recent months, Twice Eyes wasted no time displaying the dynamic nature of the project, drifting between hazy pop-centric murmurs, blown out walls of sound, and uptempo pop. It’s all tied together by a tonality and understated glow that feels as though its been left to melt in the sun. Twice Eyes offer another taste of the upcoming record with album centerpiece “Dreamt,” a song that jangles and splinters, roaring with melodic focus and a laidback ease that still moves like a landslide. There’s a brightness in the verses, a shimmering layer of accessible riffs paired with complex drums that set a false sense of security only to erupt with the raw nature of the hooks. As the song unfolds, so does the jangle, balanced instead by caterwauling distortion, pinched harmonics, and a dazzling rhythm that’s as dreamy as it is aggressive.