One fateful day (about a month ago), Spotify recommended “When the Lights Go out” by Naked Eyes. Recognizing the album cover as the house of one of my favorite songs, aka “Promises, Promises,” I let the song play. Thank god for this act of mercy.
Pete Byrne, on the vocals, and Rob Fisher, on the keys, made up the new wave duo from Bath, England. I just imagine them walking around with crazy “A Flock of Seagulls” hair, rocking along to their synth-pop beats. Wet sidewalks and cloudy skies and blue hair. I just looked it up and they didn’t have blue hair, it was actually average, fluffy brown hair. But nevertheless, they definitely could’ve gone with that eclectic style and it would’ve fit along with the rest of their “Culture Club” ‘80s sound. This era of music definitely put out some incredible music and interesting fashion styles, that’s all I’ll say.
Prior to Naked Eyes, both Byrne and Fisher were previously members of Neon–which also included members from Tears for Fears. Makes sense really. During the initial era of the band–which only lasted from ‘82 to ‘84–they put out a few major releases, the album “Naked Eyes” being one of them. In these few albums, they put four songs into the US top 40 charts. The duo did attempt to tour during that time, but unsurprisingly found it difficult to recreate their sound live and acoustically. A shame at the time. But since 2005, Byrne has been able to pull resources together and tour live every summer since. In 2008, they went around the US with Belinda Crlisle, ABC, and the Human League (surprise, surprise). I’d love to see that line-up.
So today I’m here to comment on this incredible project that was “Naked Eyes” the album. I thank Spotify everyday for shoving that song into my ears and ultimately convincing me to give the entire album a listen. If you’re into new age or electro-pop music at all (which I would never even say is one of my favorite genres), then this is definitely a release worth listening to. I’m normally only into this kind of music during the post-New Years, melancholy-weather, and begging-for-flower-buds time of year. Some other older groups I’d compare Naked Eyes to are the General Public, Pet Shop Boys, New Order, and Washed Out. In the past 10 years, I think they rock right along with Arlo Parks, Blood Orange, Parcels, and maybe even Mt. Joy. But it’s really such a flexible genre, I even like combo-ing these artists along with Kid Cudi and Kanye on playlists.
Back to the album at hand, “Promises, Promises” peaked in the US at 11. What a great song. Timeless in my opinion. How does that little guitar riff not get your lips pursed and shoulders absolutely shimmying?
You make me promises, promises
You knew you’d never keeeeeeep
Ugh. The song even tells a sad little story. You can feel his pain, know his struggles, and jam right along. But in all honesty, he needs to man up and find a trustworthy partner sometime.
My song of the month is without a doubt “When the Lights Go out.” It hit 37 in the US charts, which is a crime–it needed to shoot up to the number 1 spot without a doubt.
Susie doesn’t go out very much,
She likes to stay in bed at night.
Seems that everything is all too much…
Yeah, Susie seems pretty relatable. I hear those opening lines and feel the beat of the song and am immediately sold. The sound is just so mystifying; I need to dance along. I feel like it is a song that truly captures the core vibe of Naked Eyes’ work. If you like that one, I guarantee this entire album was made for you.
Some other incredible songs that have definitely not received the recognition they deserve are “Voices in My Head,” “Burning Bridges,” and “I Can Show You How.” You can tell they were all created for this same project. They uphold that Naked Eyes’ sound so amazingly.
Burning bridges that you pass,
you find yourself alone at last.
They are pretty literal with their lyrics, but it makes it that much easier to interpret the song. I’ll take it. Paints an easy picture to understand.
In summary: great album. Great band, too. I’ve basically been listening to the album on repeat for the past few weeks. I’ll probably get tired of it soon, but it’s still cold and rainy here in Madrid so maybe not. But for you, just let it run in the background of your morning routine or on a commute to class sometime. Worth a shot for a great album.
Iz FM 
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