In their most recent single, "Summer Love," off the band's fourth LP, "Mind The Wire," The Crawling Eye continues to prove they're not going to be one of those bands that stick to one particular sound, and they're here for the feels. "Summer Love" radiates a warmth. It's indie rock lacquered over with a coat of alt-pop sheen and a dash of wistfulness thrown in at just the right moments. The track strikes a balance between sticky hooks and muddy textures that is at once cinematic and intimate, a postcard from a moment that has passed but that you aren't ready to let slip away.
At the heart of the song is Regan Meredith's vocal style that drifts effortlessly above the music, like sunrays on a hazy July morning through blinds. There's an emotive honesty in her tone, which falls between remembrance and reverie, that grounds the song's thoughtful tug. Behind her, Matthew Witherstone's guitar and keyboard work create a lush base, subtly oscillating between twangy riffs and melodic atmosphere. Bassist Sean Davies anchors the song's groove, his lines pulsing just out of view, below the track's dreamy surface, and also contributes softly to the song's stacked harmonies. The album has a sleek, slightly cloudy sheen, but there's even more atmosphere in "Summer Love."
The production expands the song. Everything is so deliberate and immersive, from the guitar textures that slink, ebb, and echo to the glittering background keys. The three-piece band exists entirely within its natural creative habitat, born in the dark, loamy corridors of their influences rather than trying on hat after hat to shape some general concept. "Summer Love" is a glowing testament to that ethos, a song that seeks not trends but a feeling. Whether you've never heard The Crawling Eye before or you've been along for the ride, "Summer Love" sounds like an established new summit. It's the sort of song that stays in your headphones long like the memory of a summer that you wanted to last one more day.
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