With their newest EP, Maestranza, Eyes on the Shore brought shimmering, psychedelic tones to their surfer-rock style. The San Francisco-based band dropped the collection of five tracks November 18th after releasing the first four tracks as singles over the past few months. Maestranza (which roughly translates from Spanish to “master”) builds upon the rock-and- roll persona. On their website, the band describes their sound as “a blend of guitars, drums, washed out effects, harmonies, and electronic beats. Dipping into psychedelic rock, chill wave, and tropical grooves, the band’s sonic signature has a floating, ethereal feel.” Now, while that may sound like the kind of hippie lingo one expects a San Francisco surfer-rock band would use to describe themselves, it’s actually pretty spot on.
Eyes on the Shore rocks out in the music video for “Maestranza”, the title track of their new EP.
Eyes on the Shore formed around four years ago, and is now comprised of Cory Tauber, Kayhan Golkar, Antrom Kury, Kevin McCann and Erik Huang. In 2013, they released a self-entitled EP, debuting a driving rock-and-roll style which sounds like a modern rendition of a 60’s beach party film soundtrack. They also began to bring their music to the stage in raucous live performances, jamming out with the force of a crashing wave. In 2015, they released a full album, A Golden Blue, building out their guitar riffs and rolling percussion to include string harmonies and crooning lullabies.
With Maestranza, the quintet further embellishes their distinctive sound with a washed out electronic glaze. While retaining the cooing vocals, string support, and driving rock of their previous albums, they also layer in more complex detailing. The five tracks pair fluttering guitar melodies with synth flares, gritty voice-box modifications, and electronic percussion. The EP brings Eyes on the Shore closer to the likes of Tame Impala’s shimmering, loping, guitar-driven rock. It also calms down the frenzy found on most of their other albums. From the laid-back opener “Washed Away” to the cruising “Wolf Runner”, Maestranza slows the band’s drive to a cooler, more relaxed pace.
The title track, the final song on the EP, is reminiscent of Glass Animals, pulsating with voice redux and flitting guitar galore. Even through the more upbeat portions of the song, where the band interjects with shouts of “hey!”, the steady bass groove swirls to create the impression of floating in a lava lamp. This effect is visualized in the music video the band put out: the five members, dressed in all white, jam and groove through the song while liquid technicolor lights are projected on them.
Though it only features five tracks, Maestranza showcases how Eyes on the Shore has evolved in just one year. It compliments their strong and solid rock-and-roll with more complex electronic detail. Combining the best of shimmer-rock and surfer-rock, this short EP hints at great things to come from the band out of San Francisco.
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