Black Eyes - Black Eyes (Dischord/2003)

This self titled Black Eyes album is one of the few albums which I took a chance on and was pleasantly surprised. I knew they were on Dischord, but I had no idea what they sounded like. I decided to give them a shot without sampling them on the Internet somewhere, and ordered the album for cheap on Amazon. It was probably one of the best decisions I've ever made.

Black Eyes are made up of two drummers, two bassists (one of whom sings), and a guitarist/vocalist. It's an odd, risky, set up, but it works. The drummers work hand-in-hand providing a cacophony of a background for the bassists to do their groove dueling while the guitar screeches and whines all over the place. In the forefront are the vocalists singing/screeching about social issues, dealing head-on with rape, racism, and other things that make life so much fun. It's a difficult album to listen to at times, simply because of the combinations of the harsh subject matter of some of the songs and the unbelievable grooveablilty of them. One song in particular, “Deformative,” deals with the hardships of pedophilia from the eyes of the pedophile. It'd be a rough pill to swallow if it wasn't for the bitcchin' bass lines and the frenetic drums making the song so easy to dance to.

I wasn't very surprised when I found out Ian Mackaye produced the album. Firstly, it's a Dischord album. Secondly, it sounds like a Fugazi album, if Guy Piccotto was castrated and the entire rhythm section went crazy. In a good way, of course.

I can understand that this album is hard for some people to get, mainly due to guitarist/vocalist Daniel Martin-McCormick, but this guy makes the album. His shrill screams, especially when placed against Hugh McElroy's more conventional vocals, are a piercing call to attention at the things he's singing about. He doesn't really play notes on his guitar, but opts for hitting it with metal things creating some awesome distorted scratching noises. He brings life to the band's full-bodied rhythm section, never letting up on the insanity.

It's cautious, but never careful. It's forward thinking without being overly ambitious. It's also only thirty minutes long. Take a chance and listen to it.

Note: Dan Martin-McCormick and bassist Jacob Long are in a new band called Mi Ami. It's a different, slower vibe, but it's pretty sweet.