MANY EYES – The Light Age
Keith Buckley is verified Buffalo royalty. In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last few decades, Keith was the charismatic frontman of Every Time I Die, the pride and joy of Buffalo hardcore, for 20+ years. His latest output comes in the form of MANY EYES, which feels like a natural continuation of his iconic presence and eccentric energy. Their debut LP, The Light Age, is a ten-song offering that both acknowledges the past and looks toward the future – fans of of Buckley’s previous work will find plenty to sink their teeth into here, as long as they can take a few new sounds, ideas, and mindsets in stride. While it’s almost impossible to separate Buckley from his previous catalog (especially for us Buffalonians), this does feel like a catharsis of sorts for him – see below:
“This is an expression of who I am… I’m letting the music do the talking. I really trusted my collaborators. I’m not interested in being known as a frontman. I just want to be another part of the band who uses his own instrument to complete the picture.”
Opening track “Revelation” is almost exactly what you’d expect from a Keith Buckley project – expect razor-sharp guitar riffs and throat-shredding screams combined to create an onslaught of slick, hardcore energy. For as bone-crunching as it sounds, the chugging guitar here settles into a deep pocket groove, working together with the drums to create a chest-pounding rhythm that creates ideal conditions for headbanging. Buckley’s ever-youthful scream sounds as voracious as ever, as he barks clever (and pointed) one-liners like “I stuck the landing on a leap of faith.” By the time the song breaks down into a brutal “Fuck off, I’m in love,” you’ll find yourself feeling like everything is back to normal, and one of your favorite Buffalo-based musician is back with a vengeance.
Before you get too comfortable, song two is the first sign that MANY EYES might be a departure from an archetypal Buckley project. Almost exclusively recorded with clean vocals that are, dare I say, catchy, “Future Proof” feels a little bit closer to something radio-ready… On your heaviest local rock station of course. The swampy bass tones that kick this one off keep the song feeling dirty and juxtapose nicely against the shimmering leads that cut through the chorus. Buckley, of course, continues to be a focal point, with a passionate and melodic delivery that only starts dirtying up as the song is approaching its end. It’s an impressive show of restraint, and in a vacuum, this song would be a strong single from any new band – it’s just a question of whether you’re fine with the fact that Buckley’s going to do whatever he wants, regardless of what anyone else thinks.
The Light Age continues with this push/pull of clean/scream energy, never failing to keep its listeners on their toes. The pummeling punk drumbeat on song three, “Mystic Cord,” breaks down into a great, speaker-shredding refrain of “And I will not put dirt on a mass grave, you have not been punished, so you will not be saved,” before bleeding into song four, “Third,” which treads into ballad territory. Track five (and album highlight), “Harbinger,” might be the heaviest moment on the album, with a sludgy, ascending-chord breakdown that makes you want to smash whatever’s next to you into a million tiny pieces. There’s plenty of other highlights throughout this album – including the brief, Slayer-esque guitar solo on “Speechless;” the downtuned crunch of “Enough;” and the surprisingly tender album closer “The Rainbow,” which perhaps even more surprisingly, has a brain-bending solo of its own.
The Light Age is out now (September 6th, 2024). Check out the album using the bandcamp embed (below), or, visit the band’s Linktree to find all the different ways to consume/support their music.
Categorised in: Album of the Week
This post was written by Nick Sessanna