Alien Eyelid – Bronze Star
Cosmic American music has many active scenes across the states and even a burgeoning group of talent in the U.K. Given the genre’s origins, Southern California is a natural place for cosmic cowboys and cowgirls to do their spacey square dancing. The Pacific Northwest is also teeming with cosmic talent these days, including artists like Jeffrey Silverstein.
But is there a spot in America any more naturally suited to the sounds of alt-country and cosmic americana than Texas? Maybe not. That’s why I wasn’t surprised when I listened to the blissful sounds of Houston-based Alien Eyelid, which recently released the full-length Bronze Star on May 5th.
The band has former members of groups like Buxton and Lower Dens, which I admittedly don’t know much about. But while I don’t know much about their background, I gathered that Alien Eyelid is a group of veteran americana musicians. And they’ve created a beautiful new record. You will find touches of The Byrds, Neil Young, and Gram Parsons in Bronze Star, but it’s all with convincing modern twists and unique takes.
Alien Eyelid says they’re “born out of the burnout of post-everything,” and they assembled the quietest who’s who of the Houston music scene. On Bandcamp, they say Bronze Star is “a testament to music that sounds like it could come from any time but is squarely in what’s needed now.”
I find the comment about post-everything burnout interesting. It’s an attitude that encapsulates much of the resurgence in interest in cosmic American music. Post-everything refers to the wild mixing of genres as the streaming boom accelerates, America continues to diversify, and we lurch into “genre-less” music. And isn’t that what cosmic country is about? It’s a mash-up of styles, taking the best of roots music and bringing it into the 21st century.
Bronze Star has a theme of nostalgia and a longing for simpler times. Maybe this is why so many of us love cosmic americana. We want the sounds of the way back when, but we know we live in a different age. We likely also want to reclaim country music as our own, something deeply embedded in the roots of America but often hogged by conservatives and the Kid Rock’s of the world.
“Where Elgin Bends” may be my favorite song on Bronze Star, featuring sounds more surgery than your grandma’s homemade sweet tea. I couldn’t find the lyrics, but I picked up on the themes. “Looking for the place you call home” and “It’s hard to find the way back home these days/when you are the stranger” are two lines that hit me right between the eyes. The song shows a yearning for the past and the comforts of home, something many of us can relate to.
“4737 Jefferson” is another track that taps into nostalgia. I couldn’t tell if it was referring to a childhood home or an old haunt, but the song conjured images of family photo albums and old Polaroids. “I’ve been down, down, down, since you’ve run around,” is the chorus refrain, so it may actually be a breakup song reminiscing about an old shared home. It helps that, musically, it’s another cozy tune full of warm melodies.
“Lemons” has a Southern-fried vintage country-rock sound that will make you want to spin some Flying Burrito Brothers records. The jangly guitar riff has a classic early Southern California sound to die for. The rest of Bronze Star is just as good and already one of my favorite hidden gems of the year. I’ll let you, the listener and reader, discover these delights yourself.
Alien Eyelids may be a quiet super-band from Houston that hasn’t gotten much attention, but it’s not because of inferior songwriting abilities. Bronze Star is an americana shooting star that has flashed across the night sky in this crazy modern-day music cycle that I hope doesn’t get overlooked.
The album has all the twang you’d ever want, with tracks tastier than Moon Pies and enough dirt and grit to give it some shine. So, dust off your cowboy boots and hit the strip with this one, playing it front-to-back, because there won’t be many tracks you’ll want to miss on Bronze Star.
This review was written by Nick, who runs The Third Eye psychedelic rock blog. Nick is a Philadelphia-area native who recently moved to Tennessee with his wife and two fuzzy children. Since moving to his new home, Nick’s enjoyed being surrounded by honky-tonks in the Nashville area, listening to WMOT Roots Radio, and being closer to the birthplace of country music.
