Following the overindulgence and excesses of December, January is always the silent partner to the festive session, and a quieter side to the local music calendar and events scene emerges. That said, the Barnsley music scene already appears to be a bit different this year. Following the eagerly awaited release from local indie luminaries The Black Lamps, Barnsley alt-rockers Spy Eye host their debut EP launch at The Underground on 23rd of January. A young band I hosted LIVE on my radio station last year, Spy Eye are far more about hard core rock and loud layered fuzzy guitars, than the spirited and tuneful local indie I often discover.
The cleverly titled ‘Constants and Variables’ may well be a reference to the young quintets early flourishing sound. The constant for me is the afore mentioned fuzz-heavy and often melodic guitar riffs, lethargic low-fi vocal and crashing percussion on the opener ‘White Flags’. Yet no flag waving, this more of a call to arms to rock in the mosh-pit. ‘Xs in the Sky’ is another absolute mash of heavy guitar layering, fuzzy reverb and crashing percussion. This for me, is the strongest of this three track debut. Hardly a love song, more a statement dismissing past relations to the sky, taking the X’s term literally of course. A searing vocal leads the way with some venomous prose and rhythmic swagger.
The humorously titled Once Upon a Whore is certainly no fairy tale, but is the definitive Variable in this collection of tracks from the young upstart rockers. A slightly different acoustic mellow intro which leads to a rhythmic meeting of guitar melody and coupled vocals. It gives off a real running riff throughout and is rather infectious. Overall, it’s a promising little collection of the alternative and is one to blast away the December lethargy via an AMP, a pedal and some pure SPY EYE revolutionary rock.
Words by Ryan Oxley
SPY EYE launch their EP ‘Constants and Variables’ at The Underground on the 23rd of January.
Find the band on Facebook by visiting www.facebook.com/pages/SpyEye/110645959086702
Ryan Oxley is the host of the weekly Indie/New Music show on Penistone FM every Friday night. Keep up to date with the show by visiting www.facebook.com/TheIndieShowPenFM
Alternative Barnsley 