Eyes Lips Eyes

What You Want (If You Want)

Roll Call Records, 2012 

Eyes Lips Eyes kick off this latest EP by revisiting their song “Tickle,” with a richer, more full production quality, pointing it squarely in the direction of future radio play. The songs memorable guitar riff is still bright, cheerful and dances as softly as daylight reflecting on clear water, but the rhythm has been bolstered and beefed up with some additional layers of sound, steering this band away from the indie pond they are rapidly outgrowing.

Eyes Lips Eyes are self described as a disco-punk act, and the next song, “Don’t Blow It,” is an assertive and hard charging bit of fun. The bass delivers a melodic line which will leave you nowhere to hide but the dance floor when this song is on. At times, singer Tony Hello sounds as though he’s spewing forth the contents of a rhyming dictionary “You know it’s not too late to exfoliate” but delivered with such confidence and panache, who cares?

“Say Say” is another monster of a song. Sweetly intoxicating vocals against an angular guitar riff and dance floor rhythms; this is sugary and seductive and close to perfect as a song could ever hope to be. This is the sleeper single in the bunch. You’ll find this running through your head as you try to fall asleep.

“Forgot to Party” is over the top, with everything loud and big and hard to ignore. They repeatedly sing “Celebrate your life,” and it’s hard to argue with.  This is a dozen great dance numbers tossed into a cuisine art. The end result, a huge number that’s hard to ignore.

On the opening number Tony Hello asks, “If I make it easy/Will you tickle my heart?” Eyes Lips Eyes make it hard to resist their unique charms, and really, why would anyone want to?