★★★★☆
Not a whole lot is known about exactly who put this record together. There’s been no public confirmation of the personnel involved.
What I will say, however, is that the mystery vocalist sounds remarkably similar to one Cook Craig, who’s sung on a couple of King Gizzard tracks and plays guitar and bass in that band. Purely speculation, but the release through Flightless makes it seem likely. What I will also say is that if Carl Sagan were still around, he’d be playing in a band like this, no question.
Like Sagan, Pipe-Eye know how to spit some serious cosmic wisdom. Then they leave you to ponder it over the course of the 30- to 60-second segue tracks that pepper the record. It adds a nice buffer to what is otherwise essentially a four-track EP by giving it a theatrical feel.
It may not resonate with everyone – I’m sure some will feel cheated by the 50 per cent split between songs and noisy interludes. But it gives the songs – all of which would stand quite nicely as singles – a little bit of breathing space without the risk of adding half-baked tracks for the sake of filler.
It’s a highly promising – albeit mysterious – debut from the group, and it will be interesting to see where it leads.
Pipe-Eye’sCosmic Blipia available now through Flightless/Remote Control.
