Cardinal Fuzz on twitter
Captcha Records on twitter
Cathode Ray Eyes is the solo project from Ryan Delgaudio from The Cult of Dom Keller and ‘Eyes in the Melancholy Palm’ is the debut release.
And it’s a great release, it really pushes the boundaries of psych with styles and sounds from garage band to more ambient, makes great use of guitar loops and it’s almost cinematic at times with a darker edge to some of the songs. There are some great toned riffs – the full range from clean to distorted. The vocals suit the style of the songs really well, often heavily processed, sometimes distant sounding giving a great effect, there are some nice harmonies too. That description makes it sound rather diverse – and it is – but what is really impressive is the way that it sounds really coherent whilst listening. The album has a great lo-fi sound and the style and arrangements of each song are excellent.
It’s available now on Cardinal Fuzz (CFUL033) as a Sam Giles CD edition, however, you’d better move fast as unsurprisingly these have been going like hot cakes and at the time of writing there were only 4 left. If there are any left, they’re available from Cardinal Fuzz online shop
The good news is that there are more copies available from Captcha Records in the USA (HBSP-2X-067) from 9th of June, available in LP and Digi formats. They will be available from Captcha Records Website
And The Burial Had Several Different Endings This is a great opening song, it has a sort of acoustic opening but also a great dark edge to the sound, like a kind of foreboding. The drumming and bass propel the song along and there are some great feedback type sounds too.
Death Song No. 1 The song has laid back vocals to open along with a great distorted riff. The sound is somewhere between surf and pysch, there’s a really good momentum to the song which has an excellent gnarly guitar tone too.
The Unsuccessful Resurrection of James Dean The opening guitar has a 12 string type of sound and the riff has middle eastern qualities. The vocals again are laid back and the song has great momentum provided by the drumming and bass. There are also nice changes in feel to the song.
I Woke Up This Morning And The World Was On Fire This song has a really nice riff to open which has a great distorted tone too. The vocals have a kind of disembodied feel which works really well. There’s a great momentum again and the song has a nice edge to it too.
Drowning Rats This song has a great synth sound and trem guitar to open with. It’s a kind of brooding, evolving song with a great sound.
Grim Reaper on my Back A great opening riff, this song has a kind of rock n roll feel. The vocals are excellent, they’re really well arranged and processed. The song develops more of a psych feel and has great momentum again.
And It Came (Barrel Of Skeletons) This song has a great dark edge to it with a hint of dissonance. There’s a great riff which is jangly yet distorted and a bit distant at the same time. There’s a great change of feel in the middle before returning to the riff. The simple percussion works really well.
Harry Houdini This song has a great distorted guitar leading into 2 excellent riffs which complement each other really well. The vocals are then distorted and have a distant feel to them. The chorus had a kind of double time feel to it and the song has a great edgy sound.
Will You Catch Me When I Fall From On High An acoustic riff with simple bass and natural sounding percussion to open with, the song has a kind of middle eastern feel to it. The vocals have a delayed trem effect which works rather well. There’s a great vibe to the song too.
Short Piece About a Piano This song has a great opening riff with quite a clean tone, the drumming really gives momentum to the song. There’s a lead line which weaves into and out of the song adding a nice tension.
Goodbye To Wonder Sparse percussion to open with a jangly, slightly distorted riff. The vocals are more spoken, great reverb effect with really nice harmonies too. A great edge to the song.
1000 Suns Another excellent riff to open, the song has a laid back feel to it but still maintains momentum. The vocals sit in the background, there are great harmonies too. There’s also some great distorted guitar too which complements the synth sound really well.
When There Is No Beginning, Middle or End A strummed riff complemented by a trem picked riff to open the song which is propelled along by solid drumming and bass. The vocal style is more spoken and again sits more in the background, the song has a great edgy sound.
