Logo
DiS Needs You: Save our site »
  • Logo_home2
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • In Photos
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Search
  • Community
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • Blog
  • Community

THIS SITE HAS BEEN ARCHIVED AND CLOSED.

Please join the conversation over on our new forums »

If you really want to read this, try using The Internet Archive.

Secondsmile

Aspen Fears/I Have Knives In My Eyes, I'm Going Home Sick

Label: Big Scary Monsters Release Date: 25/06/2007

25150
therapyrock by Ben Yates June 27th, 2007

Now, here’s a single worth investing in: a split single from two Big Scary Monsters mainstays – one track from Secondsmile with ‘Aspen Fears’, the other courtesy of young upstarts Meet Me In St Louis with their ‘I Have Knives In My Eyes, I’m Going Home Sick’. Nice one.

Those up on their knowledge of 2006 debuts will know that Secondmile’s Walk Into The Light And Reach For The Sky was something of a triumph. Splicing together the massive singalong choruses of post-millennial emo with the atmosphere of post-rock, the quartet caused a thoroughly-deserved stir amongst the press ranks. ‘Aspen Fears’ builds on the template of strained wails and reverb-soaked guitar motifs set forth on their debut, but trades in their much talked of unpredictability for simpler routes. Come the release of their second album later this year, you can bet despondent Biffy Clyro fans will recruit en masse to Secondsmile’s cause.

Meet Me In St Louis, on the other hand, are the antithesis to Secondsmile’s atmospheric wanderings. As it should be, right? After all, this is a vs. single, so it’s nice to have two very different bands fitting the bill. Ultimately, Meet Me In St Louis fare better in this battle.

As a band who bettered themselves in quality since their awesome EP release last year, I'd be surprised if their debut album, to be released in August with Alex Newport’s (At The Drive-In, The Mars Volta) skillz behind the production desk, is anything less than stunning. The first single taken from said album is a winding epic, full of erratic time signatures and evolving dynamics. The opening minutes of the song teeter on the edge of combustion, interpreting the stop-start rhythms as a build-up to a more succinct conclusion. Its mid-section is sparse, employing a slower build before upping the tempo double-speed for a final two-minute blast of punk-fucking-rock.

Some will wrongly denounce'I Have Knives In My Eyes, I’m Going Home Sick’, with all its unpredictability and schizo-structure, for taking a few listens to take in all the jerks and handbrake turns. This is, after all, the sound of post-hardcore destroying itself and starting again. For those willing to listen, try and catch them live – they’re touring everywhere in the next few months and next year they’ll be Bigger Than Jesus.

Now, divert your eyes this way to buy it.

  • 8
    Ben Yates's Score
Log-in to rate this record out of 10
Share on
   
Love DiS? Become a Patron of the site here »


LATEST


  • Why Music Journalism Matters in 2024


  • Drowned in Sound is back!


  • Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Year: 2020


  • Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter


  • Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing


  • Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alternative must sees



Left-arrow

Mice Parade

Mice Parade

Mobback
25144
25267

Minus Story

My Ion Truss

Mobforward
Right-arrow


LATEST

    news


    Why Music Journalism Matters in 2024

  • 106145
  • news


    Drowned in Sound is back!

  • 106143

    news


    Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Y...

  • 106141
  • news


    Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter

  • 106139

    Playlist


    Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing

  • 106138
  • Festival Preview


    Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alterna...

  • 106137

    Interview


    A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash

  • 106136
  • Festival Review


    Way Out East: DiS Does Sharpe Festival 2019

  • 106135
MORE


    news


    The Neptune Music Prize 2016 - Vote Now

  • 103918
  • Takeover


    The Winner Takes It All

  • 50972

    Takeover


    10 Things To Not Expect Your Record Producer To...

  • 93724
  • review


    The Mars Volta - Deloused In The Comatorium

  • 4317

    review


    Sonic Youth - Nurse

  • 6044
  • feature


    New Emo Goth Danger? My Chemical Romance confro...

  • 89578

    feature


    DiS meets Justice

  • 27270
  • news


    Our Independent music filled alternative to New...

  • 104374
MORE

Drowned in Sound
  • DROWNED IN SOUND
  • HOME
  • SITE MAP
  • NEWS
  • IN DEPTH
  • IN PHOTOS
  • RECORDS
  • RECOMMENDED RECORDS
  • ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
  • FESTIVAL COVERAGE
  • COMMUNITY
  • MUSIC FORUM
  • SOCIAL BOARD
  • REPORT ERRORS
  • CONTACT US
  • JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
  • FOLLOW DiS
  • GOOGLE+
  • FACEBOOK
  • TWITTER
  • SHUFFLER
  • TUMBLR
  • YOUTUBE
  • RSS FEED
  • RSS EMAIL SUBSCRIBE
  • MISC
  • TERM OF USE
  • PRIVACY
  • ADVERTISING
  • OUR WIKIPEDIA
© 2000-2025 DROWNED IN SOUND