Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Birmingham’s musical history is arguably only surpassed by the city on the Mersey, and for that its past must be respected, and that which comes from its future given a full hearing of possible appreciation.

In a part of the country that gave the world bands such as Magnum, Duran Duran, The Twang, Black Sabbath, ELO, and Esoteric, the ability to be different, to be directly involved with the pulse of the city and spread the message out beyond the river Rae and its vast network of canals, to strike a chord of your own is an act of powerful consideration; and in Solar Eyes and their self-titled debut album, the fluid and considerable vastness of the musical sense of self explodes with virtue and belief all over the aural networks and cognitive reasoning.

Solar Eyes are a force, of that there is no doubt, the band gallop where others may stare at the horse and wonder exactly how it works, how to entice it to allow them on its back; the speed of even a gentle trot causing palpitations and anxiety. There is nothing that seems to phase Solar Eyes, they come out battle ready and with ideas flowing with a magnitude of energy that it could light up the city centre and have the vision blazing as far as the eye could see.

Nothing is off limits, the notions of what constitutes a topic of song writing discussion are seamless as they are endless, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they could produce a hit single just by combining obscure facts about their hometown and set it to the shoe-gazing fraternity with a vigour and a step of poetic indulgence.

Across trip styled emblazoned tracks such Bulldozer, She Kissed The Gun, the superb Acis Test (The Walls Are Closing In On Me), Take Me To The Man, Dreaming Of The Moon, and Roll The Dice, the creational force of Glenn Smyth and Sebastian Maynard Francis, and the valuable contribution laid down by special guest Liam McKeown, resonates with time riven potency and a dynamic that thrills the soul.

A smashing, even Bostin’ debut from a band surely destined to be spoken of in the same high tones as the city’s greats, undeniably cool.

Solar Eyes debut album is out now and available from Fierce Panda. 

Ian D. Hall