Local Review: Eyes on Kites – New Lens

Eyes on Kites
New Lens

Self-Released
Street: 10.26.15
Eyes on Kites = Owl City + I Was a Cub Scout

Eyes on Kites’ most recent release, New Lens, is able to constructively take aim at a certain nostalgia—not necessarily in sound, but in feeling—and remind us of a more innocent, purer time in our lives. Each song seems formatted as a structured instrumental jam, working with melodies that have a certain childlike melancholy about them. That isn’t to say that the piece is lacking a skillful handling—each instrument provides a deeper look into the ever expanding and widely varied capabilities of sole member Trevor Smith. No track on this EP is a disappointment, but my personal favorites include: “Antibodies,” smacking delightfully of an ’80s synthpop song; “Midnight Mirrors,” with its to-die-for drum-and-synth-bass breakdown; and “Steiner Parker Town,” which, in a beautifully cinematic style, reminds one of hiking in the rain. New Lens belongs in your house, on your computer, in your ears—simple as that. –Z. Smith