Eyes on the Lines
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LP / Format
Matador / Label
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CRITIC REVIEWS
80
Making experimental music is certainly a noble calling. Sneaking the adventurous spirit of improvisation into a relatively conventional song-based record such as Eyes On The Lines, however: that's truly radical.
80
Gunn possesses a formidable knowledge of Americana, but plays like he's empowered by what's come before, rather than merely informed by it. Perhaps no one else currently working in this idiom can so successfully make the past feel like a stopover on a forward-looking route rather than a roadblock.
80
Brooklyn singer, songwriter, and guitar slinger Steve Gunn makes his Matador debut with Eyes on the Lines, a windblown set of road explorations that, despite its meandering nature, is one of his most accessible records yet.
80
This could be your next roadtrip head-nodder.
80
He has never sounded so confident, either in his effortless playing or his mahogany-rich vocal melodies. Paradoxically, however, with its circular riffs, streamlined melodies and hypnotic grooves, this new batch of songs also marks a return to the meditative nature of his earlier work. But this time around, Gunn has invited us to join him.
80
Gunn’s band sounds confident without being complacent, and breezy in the best sense. The effects can be subtle as a whisper, but these songs continually move the air.
80
These melodies are the cousins of the tunes we hum to ourselves as we walk around trying to retain balance, trying to even out the good moments and the bad. Gunn subsumes our drama by urging us, through the timbre of his guitar, to take in the leaves, the water, the steam.
80
Gunn excels at unrushed, meditative songwriting, but this album also finds him giving stronger form to his dreamy creations.
75
It’s not as much about catharsis as it is the journey towards catharsis. If the quest never culminates in an exploded amp or a slain dragon, then that’s okay.
70
Eyes on the Lines functions as the ideal soundtrack to an afternoon spent getting lost.
70
Eyes on the Lines is unmistakably a guitarist's album, yet luckily for most, Gunn's song writing is also remarkably accessible. The listener may not find themselves with catchy vocal hooks stuck in their head after a first listen, but they'll definitely be humming riffs and guitar lines for several hours afterward.
70
There’s no one set narrative that runs through the core of Eyes on the Lines, it’s a record comprised of much shorter stories taken from a much larger, more unpredictable narrative: life.
70
It’s not always the most memorable listen, though through its free-flowing divagations we finally begin to feel more empathy for an artist who’s too perceptive to hide behind his taut guitar accents.
50
Certainly, it achieves his ambition to evoke ‘the road’. It’s just a road I’d rather exit when possible.
END OF YEAR LISTS
| #27 | / | The Wire |
| #41 | / | MOJO |
| #42 | / | BrooklynVegan |
| #67 | / | Uncut |
| #69 | / | Piccadilly Records |
| #97 | / | Under the Radar |
MISC LISTS
| #56 | / | Drift Records |
Track List
- Ancient Jules
- Full Moon Tide
- The Drop
- Conditions Wild
- Nature Driver
- Heavy Sails
- Night Wander
- Park Bench Smile
- Ark
In Library (6)
Added on: April 1, 2016
