By Deuce

Flyght Club’s been tearing the studio down, lately. Although it’s little over two full months into the year, the one-man act’s already cranked out four singles on Spotify alone, including his newest, “Those American Eyes”.

The most immediately notable thing about “Eyes” is that it clocks in at just under seven minutes. It’s almost a mini-opera of sorts as Club takes the tune through numerous progressions or movements, each with its own distinct character and feeling.

The initial one is drenched in dripping, moving acoustic guitar, at least about two tracks’ worth. Well before the young man—who does everything but man the live drums on this one, including singing, playing the other instruments, engineering the tune, mastering and mixing it—ever gets to the microphone, he’s conjuring distant images of fluidly flowing running water, say a bubbling brook happily skipping past stones and spare fish, his guitars are churning along so swiftly.

The silky smooth falsetto comes next, well worth the wait and resplendent as ever during the particularly pleasing hook in which he pines for action at holding “onto those American thighs.” The live drums are handled by his potna Hriday Jain and are especially remarkable for the ever so lucid mix Club put down. The open high hat in particular is so clear and elongated it sounds as though programmed.

The tune takes another sharp turn at a breakdown in which Club lets goes of his acoustics for some wailing electric guitars, which certainly ups the ante. Meanwhile, Jain goes to work truly flailing away on the cue sticks, transporting the number into a post modern version of rock and roll.

Just when the energy is at its highest, however, they go and drop it on you. The final couple minutes of the tune abruptly regresses to about 60 BPM with a sitar, of all instruments, clearly speaking in a language any listener of music can understand. The mood becomes heavy yet still playful, the keys and synths taking over while Jain continues to keep time with closed high hats and the occasional kick. The dramatic shift in tonality and emotion is a powerful way to end the number, showcasing more musicianship than most popular acts achieve in a couple albums.