Album Review: Eyelids

[INDIE-POP CLASSICISM] "Seagulls Into Submission," the first song on Eyelids' debut full-length, doesn't storm out the gates so much as it glides. Hovering atop a graceful guitar riff and pleading melody, it's an effective trailer for the rest of the album, whose reference points are sure to make the hearts of '80s college radio DJs swell. Made up of veteran Portland musicians, whose collective credits include stints with the Decemberists, Guided by Voices and Elliott Smith's touring band, the group wears its influences with pride—the retro-'60s Paisley Underground scene, New Zealand's Flying Nun Records, early R.E.M.—and if it doesn't always transcend them, at least it does them justice. Resplendent moments abound, from the richly braided guitars crocheted around John Moen's baby's-breath vocals on "Psych #1" to the tender "Everybody," where the notes trickle down like rainwater. Sweet melancholy is the prevailing mood, but there are a few indications—in particular the harder-edged "You Are Your Own" and the psychedelic swirl "Floating Underground"—that if these guys want to try something slightly less lovely the next time around, that's totally an option, too.

SEE IT: Eyelids play the Secret Society, 116 NE Russell St., with the Minders and Denim Wedding, on Thursday, Oct. 30. 9 pm. $8. 21+.

WWeek 2015