Exploding Eye Orchestra (Jess and the Ancient Ones alter ego) has returned in 2018 with Exploding Eyes Orchestra II and, as usual, they left me dumbfounded and speechless. I was so blown away by their debut album that I didn’t even think we would ever seen another. This time around, EEO has stepped things up a notch and really produced something special. The opening track, “Those of Us Left” is a sort of gothic/ethereal piece that sounds like something you would hear in your mind just as you were slipping into REM and into sleep. It’s such an odd way to open an album but it totally works because the rest of the album literally sounds like a dream.
“Belladonna” is an upbeat rocker that definitely pulls from the same kind of vibe as the debut album while “Harmain” is a Finnish ballad that is as dark and haunting as it is beautiful. This song showcases so much growth in the voice of lead singer Jess and actually gave me chills the first time I heard it, and the second time, and the… well, you get the picture.
The 10 minute epic “Love Eternal” was such a perfect way to close out the album but in my opinion, the 6.5 minute opus “The Birch and the Sparrow” is the real show stopper on this album. I feel that this song perfectly encapsulates everything Exploding Eyes Orchestra is all about. It’s dark, it’s brooding, it’s beautiful, it’s heartbreaking; it captures so many emotions and emotes them directly to the listener. I could feel and hang on to every chord, every note, every change, and every soulful lyric. To me, this is a perfect song.
What shocked me the most about EEO II is that this album was recorded at the same time as EEO I. That means that these songs are five fucking years old. This album sounds like it could have been recorded last month and honestly, it sounds so much stronger, so different from EEO I. Maybe that is why they decided to save these songs for a future release but whatever it is, there’s a certain magic and chemistry to this material that is far more present than on the debut.
EEO II is a masterpiece that combines gothic undertones with psychedelic rock all with a very dreamy, ethereal mood. EEO II is without doubt mood music but its music that can be thoroughly enjoyed in any mood at any given time. I can only hope that the world will get more from this amazing band but that we won’t have to wait another five years to do so.
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