by Nathan Cardiff

Drenched in cool, the buzzy and glistening new record from No Cave throws a multitude of sound in your face and forces you to react. Eyes Brighter Than The Sun starts with a growling bass line that leads to a yelp by the time the four tracks have played. The slow-burn vibe is prevalent on all four songs; No Cave takes their time and lets their tunes breathe. The bass line that opens “Instinct” builds for two minutes before the vocals come in. The honest lyrics are refreshing and don’t pull any punches: “When I keep you in my sights/I show the thoughts behind my eyes/I could just stop it if I want to/But do I want to, do I want to?/No!”

The guitars give us the perfect amount of psychedelic and reverb to shimmer right into “Your Shadow” and the drums explode just as the vocals repeat and fade (“You don’t need me/I don’t think you need me…”). By the way, “cobra confidence” is one of the best lyrics I’ve heard in some time.

The wild “Thousand Lights” gets right to business before letting its gnarly second half take over. The epic, almost seven minute, “Resurrection” closes the record much like it began; with a killer bass line and thundering drums. But the downright howl gives it a feral vibe; uncontrollable by any force (other than the band itself). Eyes Brighter Than The Sun is a stunner of a debut. No Cave rules over the four songs. Each one is like an oncoming storm and you’re willing to dance in the downpour.

Favorite Tracks: “Your Shadow” & “Resurrection”

by Nathan Cardiff

Editor’s Note: You can catch No Cave at their EP release show on Friday, February 13th, at the Jackpot with Various Blonde and Paper Buffalo.