“Keep Your Eyes Ahead“
from the album Keep Your Eyes Ahead
2008
iTunes
Sub Pop stalwarts the Helio Sequence have always been masters of atmosphere, no stranger to the epic and echoed build-up. While the group stays grounded in pop songwriting, their music absorbs a demure and warm ambiance from soft keyboard textures, loose guitar lines and gentle but eerie, emotive vocals. Sounding polished and radiant on this title track from their upcoming fourth full-length, the Helio Sequence has perfected the art of rise and fall.
“Keep Your Eyes Ahead” begins as a swiftly flowing number with a purpose, band’s vocalist/guitarist Brandon Summers spilling supportive direction in a wash of reverb — “get your head on right,” he urges. Particular details, like those about “high-top shoes” and walking home from school, help to color a vivid piece as the song teeters between command and plea. Yet as the drums get a little snappier and the guitars turn a bit grimy, a humming and ambient murmur begins tugging from all directions, threatening to scramble the track into oblivion. As the whirling climax builds, ethereal chants intertwine, drowning in sound. But it’s the way the Helio Sequence right themselves from the dramatic swirl and put the scattered pieces together again that’s most impressive — a true display of precision and poise. Keep Your Eyes Ahead drops Jan. 29 via Sub Pop.