Video: Eyelids – “Colossal Waste Of Light”

Directed by John Clark, Chris Slusarenko, John Moen & Jo Hamilton. From A Colossal Waste Of Light, due March 10 on Jealous Butcher.

Back in the fall of 1989 I was heading off to college with a broken heart and an obsession with British indie pop. My local record store would sell last week’s copy of the NME for $1 after tearing off the piece of the cover page that allowed them to get reimbursed for a return. Win-win. I would devour the reviews of the singles of the week and then spend my dishwasher paycheck on imported 12-inches of bands like the Stone Roses, the Mock Turtles, Five Thirty, and the Charlatans. I was drawn to the whispery psychedelia and fantastic Beatle haircuts. Grumpy old American rock critics dismissed it all as a mediocre retread of the Byrds and Jimi Hendrix et al, and I remember thinking, “Well those guys aren’t around anymore and these guys are, so fuck you!”

Now I’m the grumpy old dude. But I try not to forget the way I felt when I was a teenager, when everything was new…to me. And to never dismiss something simply because it reminds me of something else from back in my day. I still like those same sounds. And why not? They sound good! As does this new single by Portland’s Eyelids.

Produced by Peter Buck, “Colossal Waste Of Light” features exactly the kind of woozy guitar groove that would’ve landed a prime spot on many a mixtape. The band boasts members Guided by Voices, Camper Van Beethoven, the Jicks, Decemberists, and Elliott Smith’s band, and while I’ll admit I haven’t fact-checked any of those claims, you can certainly pick up some of those vibes in this song.

Plus on tour this spring they’re playing a couple shows with the mighty Hallelujah the Hills and a couple more with Elf Power. And this is apparently their fourth full-length album, so I don’t know how I’ve missed them all these years. They’re clearly right up my alley.