Prettiest Eyes - Looks

  by Maarten Schiethart

published: 12 / 4 / 2015

Label: Aagoo Records
Format: CD

intro

Venomous and frenzied punk, which would have worked better as an EP rather than a full-length record, on debut album from Californian band, Prettiest Eyes

Prettiest Eyes hail from San Juan in California, and the first few tracks on 'Looks' appear to put them on a par with the mighty Fumaça Preta or Ty Segall in one of his many guises. Alas, it is worthy of a mindbending EP but though not an entire LP. Blasting off as if lives would depend on it, 'Looks' winds down during its latter stages. The first fifteen muddy garage punk minutes constitute a terrifically wild mix of frenzied psychedelia. Imagine Alan Vega shot back into reality with pure venom. Testeron-fuelled mayhem, performed with juvenile deliquency to no extent, makes up the first three tracks. There is snotty rock and roll punk, rolling organ riffs, hammering chords and splashing drums aplenty. A smokey sense of psychosis pertains to lurk around in all corners of this beguiling bonanza. These come at a speed which makes the album sound like a live recording. Never resurrecting this initial splashing magnificence, the album descends on a scale of 10/10 to 7/10 or 8/10. The Hispanic extravaganza of 'El Huelobicho' spoils the mood a wee bit. Leaning on two legs, 'Into Oblivion' enters deeper and darker worlds. Rude and outspoken at the start, Prettiest Eyes seem to run out of ideas for melodies or songs, yet never lose the momentum. The last few tracks bring up reoccuring memories of John Peel. Crass, harsh and gritty funk sounds from the late 1980s crop up again. Think 3OneG, Levellers 5, Of Albatross, Oblivions. Prettiest Eyes could go either way; rumbling either mightily or with mediocre energy. Until further notice I put my trust in them. Next I'll try the album in shuffle mode, something one can't do with LPs.

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