PREMIERE: Psych-rock Artist Febian Perez Debuts As Glass Eye On Dark & Raw ‘Somewhere, Nowhere’ EP
Los Angeles via New York artist Febian Perez has spent the last few years touring and performing with various projects and outfits. Eventually, the multi-instrumentalist decided to reach back into his series of unfinished solo albums and create music that was strictly his own.
Under the moniker Glass Eye, Perez dove into his work head first, recently inspired by a change in his life:
“These songs took quite a long period of time to reach their completion. I would constantly find myself thinking about how to finish the project but it wasn’t until upended my life and spent months alone, traveling across the United States and overseas. Sleeping on street benches, friend’s couches and in bizarre hostels… I was thrown headfirst into an ocean of inspiration and channeled it into the songs on ‘Somewhere, Nowhere’ and especially my upcoming debut LP ‘Like A Razor To The Eye’, which will showcase a much heavier and rawer side of my music”.
For his debut Somewhere, Nowhere EP, Perez took full control by writing, recording, and producing the record independently, the majority of which happened during isolation. Over the course of a year and a half, Perez completed the 7-track release, finding a balance between glossy alt-rock and heavy psychedelic, glued together by the sludgy sounds of grunge that ooze through the cracks.
Inspired by the likes of Ty Segall and Radiohead, Somewhere, Nowhere leans into a heavier and darker aesthetic, but ensures to not leave out the melodic and emotive style of his inspirers. Tracks like the barn-burning opener “Smile One Last Time…” showcases Perez’ fiery musicality, while “As You Burn” and the title track “Somewhere, Nowhere” dabble in the slow-burning style of Silversun Pickups, keeping in line with Glass Eye’s sludge-rock psychedelic stylings; especially “Somewhere, Nowhere” which lifts off with each chorus in line with prog-rock band Coheed & Cambria, using reverb-filled vocals juxtaposed blaring guitar riffs. The ebb and flow of the song captures Perez’ life at the time:
“I had experienced a terrible personal relationship which caused me to question myself and my sanity. The lyrics are about that experience, and how what mattered most was finding myself again. Through emotional death, there was rebirth and hope. I think a lot of us can relate”
Perez switches gears for the second half of the release, focusing more on the experimental side of his multi-genre rock through atmospheric tones and mixed arrangements that lean into more sonic intensity.
One of the more standout tracks from the album is “Husk”, a haunting acoustic guitar ballad that swells undetected until the massive arrangement hits you as if the desert sounds of L.A. band ††† (Crosses) collide with the ghost of Kurt Cobain. It seeps into “Swimming In Sin”, another shadowy ballad but with ties to the early days of metal and prog-rock with its dark demeanour and shapeshifting features. It all comes together on the dizzying instrumental track “The Frozen Sea”. With time lost to the wind, it uncontrollably accelerates into a chaotic frenzy of guitar, bass, saxophone, synthesizers, and percussion, leaving listeners on the edge to see what comes next.
As Perez begins his solo career, Somewhere, Nowhere is a dazzling first look from an artist that is able to capture a hard-hitting sound from multiple angles.
Stream/download the EP below on bandcamp via MAS MUSIC Records.
