Round Eye: Round Eye

J. Poet on July 30, 2015

After Craig Englund (Libyan Hit Squad) moved to Shanghai, China, he tracked down other American ex-pats and started Round Eye, combining early R&B, surf, free jazz and ‘80s hardcore. China is known to censor the media, yet the band still managed to solider on with a ferocious attack and lyrics that often suggested pornographic fantasies. The dark instrumentals “PMS 2.5” and “Street Light A” open the album with sounds that veer from solitary reverb-drenched bass notes to a pair of saxes playing skronkish improvisations accompanied by unintelligible shouting and frenzied punk-rock rhythms. After 15 minutes of grinding noise, “City Livin’” treats you to two and a half minutes of supersonic punk that suggests Johnny Rotten fronting the Buzzcocks. Giant buzzing saxes and Latin rhythms drive “Fear The Consequences,” which could be about cannibalism or oral sex, but even with the vocals lost in the mix, the cacophony conveys the band’s anarchic spirit.

Artist: Round Eye
Album: Round Eye
Label: Ripping