Thursday, January 20, 2022

Crystal Eyes Announce New LP 'The Sweetness Restored', Stream "Wishes"

Alberta-based psych-rock/dream-pop band Crystal Eyes have announced the release of their second full-length album 'The Sweetness Restored'.

Recorded at Montreal's Breakglass Studios with producer/engineer, Andrew Woods (The Operators, Legal Vertigo, Basia Bulat), the album will be out on April 22 through Bobo Integral (Motorists, Ducks Ltd, Quivers). Pre-order your copy here.

Described by the band as a 'feel-good self-help record for the age of existential dread,' The Sweetness Restored is a collection of 10 tracks that flirt with musical influences ranging from new wave, 60's psych-rock and 90's shoegaze, with songs driven by melody and steeped in texture.

The Sweetness Restored contains thoughtful attention to musical detail thanks to the talented team of artists behind the project. And with the beautiful, warm tones of the Neve console, it's at once a unique sound, but one that feels comfortingly familiar. The prolific Scott' Monty' Munroe (Preoccupations, Chad VanGaalen) contributed bass and the talented Eve Parker Finley composed and performed string arrangements.
 
On the first single, "Wishes", the band serves up a conflicting happy/sad mood designed to be something that you can dance to, complete with a trippy rock 'n' roll fairy tale music video that's somewhere between Alice in Wonderland and Wizard of Oz. Taking inspiration from the sounds of New Order and The Cure, the track makes use of the ghostly therevox, a touch-controlled theremin proudly made in Windsor, Ontario. Speaking about the single, Jenkins says: "'Wishes' is a song about the spiritual act of wishing as a form of the creative process, and the ultimately delicate and complicated relationship between dream and reality. It’s also a song about faith and redemption. Although we will experience loss and pain, we always have the promise of a new wish." 

When discussing the accompanying video, Jenkins continues: "The video was filmed on location at the ‘Castle House’, a Calgary mansion noted for its distinct castle-inspired design. Recently purchased by developers who intended it as a tear-down for the valuable land, they decided to turn it over to the care of artists as an incredible philanthropic gesture, for a guaranteed two-year period. The ‘Castle House’ has since become a living art installation, studio, venue and home for artists, thriving with creative, spiritual vibes." 

Check out the album's tracklist and watch the video for their new single "Wishes", below.

The Sweetness Restored Tracklist:
01. Wishes
02. Like a Movie
03. Don’t Turn Around
04. I Still Believe in Love pt.1
05.  I Still Believe in Love pt. 2
06. 2,000 Years
07. For Carole
08. Pretty Dumb
09. A Dream I Had
10. No Heaven