The Helio Sequence
Keep Your Eyes Ahead
Sub Pop / Tuba!

The Helio Sequence is made up by gents Brandon Summers (vocals, guitar) and Benjamin Weikel (keyboard, drums). Keep Your Eyes Ahead is their 4th album (second for Sub Pop). Their blend is grandiose, yet minimalist pop. Epic in small letters.

I'm not really sure what to say about Keep Your Eyes Ahead. The songs are catchy, yet I find their mixture of 'big' guitar sound and keyboards a bit annoying. They slightly remind me of a less (less, less) pompous and indeed stripped down Tears For Fears (maybe TFF mixed with the Magnetic Fields). There are of course songs excepted from this, such as the elegant "Shed Your Love", the sort of up-tempo title track (for The Helio Sequence), and the cheery "Hallelujah". The closing "No Regrets" is maybe my favourite track, with its rough style as a cosmic folk song.

Sorry, Keep Your Eyes Ahead is not at all bad, just too different and polished (well, maybe not polished is the right description, as most vocals was recorded spontaneously in bedroom closets and living rooms) for my ears.

Copyright © 2008 Håvard Oppøyen