erasing clouds
 

Von Hayes, Evident Eyelid

review by dave heaton

It will take any Guided by Voices fan about two seconds, if that, to recognize the band as the main source of inspiration behind Von Hayes and their album Evident Eyelid. If the collage cover art doesn’t give it away, the printed song lyrics might – in their brevity, their titles, or their similarity at times to Robert Pollard’s. If not that, there’s the “mastered by Todd Tobias” credit. And of course, above all else, there’s the music itself. This album sounds like an on-purpose continuation of the aesthetic that drove GBV in the Vampire on Titus/Bee Thousand/Alien Lanes days. Not strictly an imitation of it, though nearly every song has something about it that sounds just like GBV, down to particular details. But a continuation, taking the approach that GBV moved away from over the years and rolling ahead with it as if they didn’t. They do it so precisely that it works as both a tribute and an alternate reading of history. When I get old and forgetful, I doubt I’ll be able to remember whether a song like “The Wide World of Christmas” was by Von Hayes or Pollard; it may just slip secretly into the GBV discography, in my memory. That makes Evident Eyelid an artistic stealth attack, in good spirit.

The album also works as the band’s own personal statement, though, because the members of Von Hayes are clearly talented in their own right. The album takes an aesthetic that I dearly love and rocks it up their own way, keeping with the classic themes of Pollard’s music (musical and lyrical) while throwing in some of their own. The style might not be theirs alone, but the songs are, and they’ve come up with some amazing melodies that neatly carry bizarre lyrics. “Mr. Guts” and “Chaos Fading” are such great pop songs that I can’t imagine anyone caring how heavily-influenced they are. The album overall is such a fun trip: madcap, playful and driven by energy. The first song on the album mentions “replacement players”, but Evident Eyelid is more consistent at Pollard’s game than many of his own recent albums.

{www.statecapitalrecords.com}


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