Eyes On Chelsea

Let’s face it: to say that the post-hardcore genre is over populated would be an understatement. It seems as though bands pop up everyday that are only advancing towards molding themselves to sound exactly like everyone else in the scene. While every once and a blue moon a band will come along that has the potential to salvage what’s left of this dying scene, most are the very reason it’s the way it is. When every band is only aspiring to be like their already generic predecessors, the word ‘originality’ becomes entirely irrelevant. With that being said, when post – hardcore outfit, Eyes On Chelsea‘s clean vocalist, Kevin Bradford, approached me about doing a review for their debut EP, Parados, I was somewhat skeptical. Nevertheless, I gave the EP a spin, and afterwards, my perspective on the scene and its’ ever changing state was altered yet again. The EP kicks things off with a typical, erie instrumental intro, which clocks in at just over a minute and is also, coincidentally, the EP’s title track. After the ethereal electronics of the intro ring out their final notes, the release proceeds to suddenly drop into “The Walls We Weaken.” This is where we get our first taste of what EOC has to offer – and might I add, there is some severe potential there. The track features a certain animosity that is continuously felt throughout the entire release. From the pernicious growls of unclean vocalist Mark Miller (“Don’t Swim With Sharks”), to the commanding drum beats provided by Johnny Dirks (“Writing In the Sand”), EOC show that aren’t here to mess around. While some critics may write off them for the sole fact that they aren’t genre defying, if those critics would learn to peer past the surface, they would see that there are actually some stellar parts on the EP. For instance: On the first of two tracks featuring guest vocals, “Vices,” In Dying Arms frontman, Orion Stephens, lends his unique, guttural bowls to make “Vices,” the highlight of the release. Yet another example of a small upside on Parados would be vehement guitar work from both Christian Mitchell and Garrett Charlton. When you put all these small, yet reputable, elements together, the outcome is very rewarding. It’s quite obvious Parados isn’t on the same groundbreaking level as Brand New’s The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me. But honestly, what band this young is going to release something that genre defying? Eyes On Chelsea are making music that they want to – and it’s actually fairly venerable. So should we really subdue them for doing what they love, and doing it for the right reason? I think not, but in the end, that’s up to you.