Sore Eyelids - For Now

Labels: Protagonist Music/Tell Wilhelm Records/Through Love Records/Zegema Beach Records

Formats: Vinyl/Digital

Release Date: 14 Dec 2014

Tracklist:

1. Remain

2. Leaving

3. Awake

4. Waste

5. For Now

6. En Plats I Ditt Hjarta

ZBR's love affair with Swedish bands has already been covered by Dave's 'Out Past The Rings' Youtube series, so there isn't much more for me to say on the subject except it was a match made in heaven. This  second full-length from Sore Eyelids and it saw the light of day on a physical medium in December of 2004. Sore Eyelids, by their own admission, played a mix of shoegaze/indie/emo and still to this day mean so much to fans of screamo/emo in general. 

One thing that did confuse me when preparing for this review was that the song lengths on their bandcamp page differ to those on the pages of the labels that helped release the records. Did the songs get mixed up on release or just on the respective bandcamp pages? If someone could help explain this, that would be great! For the sake of this piece, I'm going to review directly from the Sore Eyelids bandcamp page.

I’m not entirely sure if the song order and lengths are correct, but I’m rolling with it as it’s the band’s page and they should be accurate right? Whether they are or not, it really doesn’t matter though as Sore Eyelids make you forgot about any insignificant details with their gloriously melodic emo/indie on album opener ‘Remain’. The recording affords the vocals plenty of space, even when they’re encased by the instrumentation. The percussion and guitar work is really soothing yet it also contains glimpses of heaviness. Given that the band features members of Suis La Lune amongst it’s ranks, that’s not entirely surprising. 

Following that expansive opener, ‘Leaving’ feels brief but the band’s use of instrumentation and subtle vocals mean that it’s still an emotional ride that need not end, although it does rather abruptly, leading to the off-kilter intro of ‘Apart’. That style carries on throughout the song, taking it in a more art-punk sort of direction (I guess!). It’s strange to hear a band on the ZBR roster that has clean vocals, even following their association with fellow Swedes I Love Your Lifestyle, but it’s welcome indeed.

Ambience is also a big part of the Sore Eyelids sound, although it doesn’t get used often. ‘Waste’ is a lot more accessible than you might expect, drawing comparisons to one big US indie band (The Killers?) in the vocal department. There’s also a nod to Cave In thanks to the loverly guitar riffs during the song’s louder moments. Again, they are only comparisons and they don’t mean much in the grand scheme of things, especially when the music is this good on it’s own.

It’s taken until the title-track ‘For Now’ to make me realise that this is the kind of emo that I’ve been missing. I felt these kind of goosebumps when listening to Russia’s Ensslin, and even though they’re subtly different musically, Sore Eyelids definitely tugs at the same feels. Closer ‘En Plats I Ditt Hjarta’ brings For Now to a serene end with a laidback display of articulate and thoughtful song-writing and performance. 

This album was released nearly six years ago now but time is immemorial (I feel like I’ve said that before!). I really need to invest in this album and more from the Sore Eyelids back catalogue. If you haven’t heard this band or for some reason they’ve bypassed you, this is a great starting point. Even the blackest of souls will be touched by it.

You can stream For Now and download it (name-your-price) via the Sore Eyelids bandcamp page below:-

Sore Eyelids - https://www.facebook.com/soreeyelids/

Physical copies are sold out from all labels.

Protagonist Music - https://www.facebook.com/ProtagonistMusic/

Tell Wilhelm Records - https://www.facebook.com/tellwilhelmrecords/

Through Love Records - https://www.facebook.com/ThroughLoveRec/

Zegema Beach Records - https://www.facebook.com/zegemabeachrecords/