Editorial Reviews
About the Artist
Based in Metro Detroit, Michigan, USA, Eyestrings is a 4-piece rock band steeped in some of the best influences from the progressive rock spectrum.
Vocalist, keyboardist and primary composer for Eyestrings, Ryan Parmenter grew up on his father's LP collection. At age two he was requesting music from "the melting man," actually Peter Gabriel's 3rd album. He began composing in high school, filtering the sounds of many artists--The Beatles, Genesis, King Crimson, Gentle Giant, Yes, Tears for Fears, Radiohead, even Tom Waits & They Might Be Giants--through his own twisted perspective. And of course he had a great fondness for his uncle Matthew Parmenter's progressive band Discipline, whose performances had a profound influence. Ryan began playing with other musicians after college, a hobby that evolved into what is now Eyestrings. For him, the completion of "Burdened Hands" is a dream come true.
Bassist Mathew Kennedy is like Ryan's other uncle. Mathew (1 "t") Kennedy and Matthew (2 "t"s) Parmenter grew up as best friends, eventually performing together across the states and abroad in the band Discipline. In the past year Mathew Kennedy has played on the elder Parmenter's first solo album, as well as playing on and co-producing the Eyestrings debut album, "Burdened Hands." A fan of progressive music and artists as diverse as Beethoven and George Clinton, he has been playing bass for nearly 20 years in bands such as Babylon Hotel, Algael Maess, Discipline, and now Eyestrings.
Guitarist Alan Rutter and Ryan Parmenter have been friends since grade 4. He and Ryan have collaborated on countless creative endeavors over the years, including high school stage plays, community-access cable programs, and of course music. Among Alan's many notable projects was his experience with the Los Angeles-based neo-prog trio RCA Project, who released a live album of their techincally complex material. A fan of newer progressive rock, especially Dream Theater, Alan brings a potentcy to Eyestrings, whether through flowing melody lines or gripping rhythms.
Drummer Bob Young is the backbone of Eyestrings. Having previously played with Mathew Kennedy in a latter lineup of Discipline, the two of them form the confident and highly musical rhythm section of Eyestrings. His studies of West African rhythms fused with a passion for progressive music inform Bob's unmistakable percussive style. He has played with the bands Royal Form, The Eclectic, Discipline, and was a founding member of the band Own before joining Eyestrings.
Product Description
"Burdened Hands" is the self-produced debut from Eyestrings, a 10-track, 66-minute album of original rock music with a rich spectrum of influences. [Warning: unauthorized name-dropping ahead...] You may hear hints of Peter Gabriel, Radiohead, Genesis, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Tom Waits, and some of your other favorites. The variety from one track to the next offers a welcome diversion for music lovers who long for an album that doesn't get bogged down in one thing. And somehow, this variety never betrays the cohesiveness of the album. But of course you should hear it and judge for yourself...
A quick synopsis:
1. Recovery -- Sad, pretty, scary, contemplative, aggressive, autonomous. Even at ten minutes that's a lot for one song, yet an appropriately-multifaceted introduction to the album.
2. Itchy Tickler -- A playful lament, if that is possible. A straight rock groove turns into a lunging chorus, with a lush guitar solo in the bridge.
3. Dead Supermen -- Wait a minute: progressive folk?! A tongue-in-cheek biography of fallen heroes.
4. Anachronism -- "I set a trap for me..." A story of evil-twin paranoia over a creepy electronic rock progression.
5. Funnel -- Complex piano patterns lead into a meter-shifting groove in this song about an uplifting descent.
6. Just A Body -- A fun song about the bleakness of human life, with perhaps the catchiest refrain on the album.
7. Slackjaw -- The sarcastic autobiography of a chauvinist in over-the-top swing style, complete with a chorus of trombones. Also, the end-jam has a satisfying apex.
8. Nothing -- Giving up, in a very pretty and sad song pushed along by rhodes piano and distant guitars.
9. Time Will Tell -- Giving up, in a very scary song driven by screaming guitar with a starkly-memorable chorus.
10. Empty Box -- The final track goes through peaks and valleys, with many themes intertwined. From somber piano & voice solo through waves of guitar melodies and moments of pure rocking-out, this epic follows to a most satisfying conclusion, and proves an appropriate closer for the album.
"Burdened Hands" is a truly diverse album. The attentive production and carefully-crafted (sometimes downright sneaky) writing promise you'll hear something new with each listening.
Burdened Hands,Eyestrings,Split Difference Records,Dynamic progressive rock often swooping from epic to whimsical to downright dark; each unique track's infectious melodies and challenging rhythms are sure to please a variety of music lovers.,Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop
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Burdened Hands
Eyestrings Manufacturer: Split Difference Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD  General
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ASIN: B00018RRT8 Release Date: 2004-01-01 |
Tracks:
Album Description
"Burdened Hands" is the self-produced debut from Eyestrings, a 10-track, 66-minute album of original rock music with a rich spectrum of influences. [Warning: unauthorized name-dropping ahead...] You may hear hints of Peter Gabriel, Radiohead, Genesis, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Tom Waits, and some of your other favorites. The variety from one track to the next offers a welcome diversion for music lovers who long for an album that doesn't get bogged down in one thing. And somehow, this variety never betrays the cohesiveness of the album. But of course you should hear it and judge for yourself...A quick synopsis:
1. Recovery -- Sad, pretty, scary, contemplative, aggressive, autonomous. Even at ten minutes that's a lot for one song, yet an appropriately-multifaceted introduction to the album.
2. Itchy Tickler -- A playful lament, if that is possible. A straight rock groove turns into a lunging chorus, with a lush guitar solo in the bridge.
3. Dead Supermen -- Wait a minute: progressive folk?! A tongue-in-cheek biography of fallen heroes.
4. Anachronism -- "I set a trap for me..." A story of evil-twin paranoia over a creepy electronic rock progression.
5. Funnel -- Complex piano patterns lead into a meter-shifting groove in this song about an uplifting descent.
6. Just A Body -- A fun song about the bleakness of human life, with perhaps the catchiest refrain on the album.
7. Slackjaw -- The sarcastic autobiography of a chauvinist in over-the-top swing style, complete with a chorus of trombones. Also, the end-jam has a satisfying apex.
8. Nothing -- Giving up, in a very pretty and sad song pushed along by rhodes piano and distant guitars.
9. Time Will Tell -- Giving up, in a very scary song driven by screaming guitar with a starkly-memorable chorus.
10. Empty Box -- The final track goes through peaks and valleys, with many themes intertwined. From somber piano & voice solo through waves of guitar melodies and moments of pure rocking-out, this epic follows to a most satisfying conclusion, and proves an appropriate closer for the album.
"Burdened Hands" is a truly diverse album. The attentive production and carefully-crafted (sometimes downright sneaky) writing promise you'll hear something new with each listening.
Customer Reviews:
A unique album.......2005-02-23
The first listen, Pulled me in...........2004-09-30
Average customer rating: 
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Burdened Hands
Eyestrings Manufacturer: independent ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD ASIN: B000LX6RZ8 |
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