With their soft focus synth pop, Same Eyes is looking for the lost souls trapped in an eternal night life, the mystified riot that dismantles the cruelty of the modern age, the words that undo the heartache of every dream home. Formed in 2019 by Alex Hughes and Chad Pratt, Same Eyes grew from a shared, specifically multifaceted kind of musical enthusiasm into a sound that brought together the dark dreaminess of pioneering ambient rock acts with the blurred clarity that only exists in the atmosphere of a party in full swing at 3AM. Prolific studio output from the founding duo resulted in multiple albums in a short timeframe, and quickly expanded into a live experience that brought new angles to the band’s late night anthems of illumination and defeat.
Even though they’ve clearly absorbed the influence of ‘80s synth pop heroes like Depeche Mode, New Order, early day Ministry, and many others, Same Eyes is far from a revival act. Instead of the shadowy and skeletal arrangement style of so many of their inspirations, these songs are dense with layers, overlapping synth lines, and nearly subliminal countermelodies lurking deep in the mix. Pratt’s years of DJ-ing and electronic production inform the precise production detail of the tracks, roughing up the bright sheen of Hughes’ vocal hooks by locking them into the nocturnal pulse of a crowded dance floor. This dance music background also accounts for the inventively crafted rhythmic samples most of the songs are built on. Floating somewhere atop the grooves, Hughes’ lyrics can take the form of fantastical depictions of high drama, hallucinogenic travelogs, or blunt emotional realism depending on the song. Much as Same Eyes’ instrumentals blur the lines between excitement and danger, the scenes painted in the lyrics show characters hanging in precarity, sometimes on the run from the consequences of their bad decisions and sometimes enjoying the show as everything around them burns. – Fred Thomas
It’s very human to feel on the outside looking in. Sometimes, we can be so blinded by our own brains that we avoid the opportunities to be seen and known. Same Eyes newest single, “Mystified,” channels these universal experiences into a catchy, mellow indie pop song. Today Glide is excited to offer an exclusive premiere of the track. In “Mystified,” Hughes sings, “I swear I’m not a bummer.” Hughes’ has this knack for writing instantly relatable lines that feel informed by personal experience. While Hughes intentionally avoids revealing the specific meaning or inspiration for lyrics, listeners will find themselves understanding exactly what Hughes is saying. While this single has all the trappings of 80s synth-pop, you can also hear Same Eyes channeling Springsteen’s Tunnel of Love era into this single. With its urgent, palm-muted guitar chords and earnest vocalizations, “Mystified” is a departure for a band that usually tries to build up songs into post-punk symphonies. This song maintains its driving groove and hooky chords throughout. While Pratt’s production tends towards maximalism, “Mystified” proves that this band can scale down and still create something that feels like themselves.
The band describes the tune in their own words:
”Mystified is our indie rocker. It takes a break from the driving synths and drum machines many of our songs are defined by and pushes us to a different place. This one was a lot of Chad and I working together on the parts and arrangement in the early days of the pandemic. I don’t like to delve into the meaning of any of my lyrics (learned from Leonard Cohen and Jarvis Cocker, why not let the listener find their own meaning) but I think the sentiment of the song is pretty clear. It’s hard to feel isolated and outside the crowd.”
Watch the video for “Mystified” and read an interview with the band below…
This song is somewhat of a departure for Same Eyes. What led you to scaling down the production on “Mystified?”
This is definitely one of our more “touchy-feely” tracks. It was written and recorded in the Summer of 2020 which I think was a really transformative time for a lot of people. We were throwing a lot of ideas at the wall and this one stuck. Chad started the idea with that intro line and we took it from there. I (Alex) was listening to a lot of Let It Be era Replacements and they have a few tracks (namely Unsatisfied and Answering Machine) that I wanted to try to draw from in terms of feeling and mood. We were also listening to a lot of Part Time which helped with the stripped back dreamy mood.
Is the single a chapter in a forthcoming collection of songs?
Mystified came out on our last record Desperate Ones, so it’s an old track. We just really love this song and wanted to give it a visual representation as well as it’s own spotlight as it wasn’t a single on that LP. Our friend John Hanson directed and shot the video. He’s a Same Eyes partner in crime. The videos are really more of his thing than ours. We trust him, his vision and ideas (to the point where we usually let him choose what song he wants to do a video for now) and count on him to bring a totally new life to each song. This was our third video we made with him and each one is truly a piece of art.
Y’all have been insanely productive for the past several years, releasing 25 songs before ever playing a live show. What was it like to bring those songs to audiences? Did the songs change at all transitioning from studio creations to live performances?
We’ve had mixed feelings about playing live as a band. For the first few years it was more so a logistical issue. I (Alex) was in school either in Germany or Ohio so it really wasn’t practical to try to rehearse or put a band together. From the Spring of 2021 to Spring of 2022 it took us a lot of tries and lineup changes to get it right. The songs definitely take a new life live. For one we have Serge playing live bass (he’s played in a lot of Same Eyes tracks) and Jordan playing guitar. The songs take less of an electronic edge live but I think adding some distortion to it is exciting. The response has been good so far. My happiest moments in life are performing in bands so this is a whole new aspect of the project that has been reinvigorating to me at least.
What’s next for Same Eyes? Where can listeners find you this year?
We just got the masters back for a new EP that we intend to release in November/December. After that, more relentless songwriting and hopefully some more cool shows in MI and beyond! Listeners can check out our music in all of the normal internet locations. If they want to get physical you can buy our first two LPs on Bandcamp on limited color vinyl.
