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Reasons To Live

by Hilly Eye

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1.
2.
Jersey City 05:01
3.
4.
Amnesia 05:07
5.
Double Dutch 03:54
6.
Forest Stomp 03:26
7.
Louisville 03:04
8.
January 04:09
9.
Almanac 04:48
10.

about

Noisy guitars, floating harmonies, and tight, angular drumming mark the debut full-length by Hilly Eye, the post-punk duo of Amy Klein (vox/guitar, formerly of TItus Andronicus) and Catherine Tung (vox/drums). From start to finish,Reasons to Live is a seamless stream of ethereal noise-rock minimalism and humming harmonies -- experiments with dissonance and tonality, drawing inspiration from the likes of Lightning Bolt to Japanese noise rock band Nisennenmondai to Sonic Youth, with free-noise moments reminiscent of early Boredoms. On moments like “Amnesia”, Klein’s pristine vox soar high over a careful, driving drums and perfect wooshes of shoegazey riffs, building with potential energy until they explode into a noisy wall of cathartic distortion. Elsewhere, complex layers of intricate drums weave through cyclical loops of guitar riffs and dueling shimmery harmonies on the aptly titled “Double Dutch”. The full-length album sees a more expansive versions of “Jersey City”, with Klein’s vocals occasionally peaking into an fervent shout. The record closes with their previously released single “Jacob’s Ladder”. Hilly Eye’s sound is drawn from a distinctly post-riot-grrrl energy, expertly crafted by two musicians fully in command of their craft, with ears for dark, hypnotic dynamics. "In the year that's passed since her surprising departure from Titus Andronicus, Brooklyn-based guitarist, writer, and activist Amy Klein hasn't exactly kept quiet. These days she's fronting two bands: the lush, folk-rock five-piece Leda, and the pummeling, primal-sounding duo Hilly Eye, who earlier this year signed to New Brunswick punk imprint Don Giovanni. "Amnesia," the first glimpse of their debut LP Reasons to Live, recalls Klein's Titus days in the way it presents a passionate but complicated kind of patriotism. The song is a study in contrasts: during the verse Klein's voice lilts and her guitar chimes tunefully over Catherine Tung's insistent beat, while the chorus rumbles with the sort of discord and sudden volume that would make Pixies proud. "Oh, glory," she wails, the searing vocal performance recalling her recent take on the X-Ray Spex classic "Oh Bondage! Up Yours!" But the next line reveals the track to be more of an impassioned critique than a one-dimensionally sunny national anthem, "My country, it lies."--PITCHFORK

credits

released January 22, 2013

Recorded and mixed by Danielle DePalma at Seaside Lounge
Mastered by Josh Bonati at Bonati Mastering

Photography by Catherine Tung
Artwork by Catherine Tung, David Rios, and Joseph Steinhardt

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Don Giovanni Records New Brunswick, New Jersey

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contact: dongiovannirecords@gmail.com

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