About

Subsonic Eye are enraptured by nature. On their 2021 album, Nature of Things, the Singaporean five-piece explored the tolls of human indulgence through raw tonality and zippy jangle pop, poignantly celebrating the spirits of a natural world fast disappearing. Though the album saw the group trade their noisy dream-pop tendencies for a cleaner sound, the result was no less propulsive, instead pushing the band to refine their songwriting.

On their fourth full-length All Around You, Subsonic Eye expand on this relationship to nature with a renewed appreciation for its coexistence with urban cities. The hectic, fast-paced character of urban life refracts through snappy, invigorating hooks, prisms of entrancing tone layered with singer Nur Wahidah’s restless, velvety lilt.

All Around You’s lead track “Yearning” unravels the band’s religious dedication to the idea that nature is all around us, that we are whole with it. Sung over a nimble guitar melody and tension-building rhythm, “dunk my head into waters / wake me up fully new now” arrives in direct reference to Wahidah’s newfound perspective that we over indulgent humans can still find a harmonious balance with nature.

As if to make this harmony manifest, Subsonic Eye balance the scales with “Circle” and “J-O-B”, songs that pick apart the brutal and monotonous cycles of our capitalist setting. Though the subject matter can grind you down, the songs instill purpose and uplift listeners with undeniably hooky songwriting that combines the best of Alvvays and Sonic Youth.

The ten songs that comprise All Around You also comprise a space to sit with the complex feelings inspired by this intense world we inhabit. Rather than succumb to doom, Subsonic Eye relish the opportunity to meditate on these uncomfortable emotions to find their way to the ultimate realization that beauty is all around us. — (via Label)

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Subsonic Eye’s latest album, All Around You, takes on a reinvigorated, more welcoming perspective. It’s set in the crowded cityscape, the hustle and bustle of urban sprawl reflected in the band’s rip-roaring guitars and whirlwind drumming. Their production is tighter and heftier; their hooks are sharper. Vocalist Nur Wahidah doesn’t sound overwhelmed, but hopeful as she surveys her surroundings and glimpses greenery. On “Everything,” she notices wildflowers growing out of car parks and waxes poetic about the sunrise: “Watching the gold bathe the birds/Bringing song into cities/Bringing luxury in our souls.”

Across the album, she’s self-assured and playful. She responds with cool-headed sass to the demands of a nine-to-five, like on the gleeful, hooky “J-O-B” or the scuzzy “Machine,” where her mocking observations on being a corporate cog get swallowed by an exhilarating guitar solo. Bandmates Daniel Borces and Jared Lim act as strong complements to her lead. On the skittish opener “Performative,” Borces lights her flippant narration of political activism—“Signing petitions, charging laptops, separating causes from ourselves”—up with a sublime riff, shaking off the song’s creeping malaise. Elsewhere, the pair’s textured performances lend warmth to Subsonic Eye’s boisterous noise pop: Their bright guitar tones have an electrifying glint, while the reverb-heavy, shoegaze fuzz conjures the prickling sensation of sunlight on skin.

Subsonic Eye are at their most urgent and heartfelt on “Yearning,” the explosive climax of All Around You. With thrashing guitars and hammered drums, the song explores the heat of desire. As the guitars cool to a rolling swell, Wahidah finds comfort in an affectionate embrace: “You woke me from my slumber, I fall down on my knees/Basking in your warm light, it’s how I came to be,” she sings, still searching for the natural even in the arms of another. She nudges forward, driven by her hunger for contact, but it's the surge of the band that pushes her through. Even when her optimism falters, they’re a supportive backing. All Around You proves that connection—to nature, to a lover—can be a profoundly potent force. — (via Pitchfork)

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- Reissued on "Warm Light" Orange/Yellow Galaxy vinyl (3rd press)
- Includes lossless audio download

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Label: Topshelf Records
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Limited Edition, Warm Light
Released: 2023
Genre: Rock, Pop
Style: Indie Rock, Alternative Rock, Dream Pop

File under: Singapore Titles
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