Keep Your Eyes Ahead

The Helio Sequence | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 29, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sub Pop
• ASIN: B00109TG8C
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #110,469 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

For just two guys, the Helio Sequence can generate a serious racket. With the effusive drumming of Benjamin Weikel (who also plays keyboards), and the nimble use of effects pedals from guitarist/vocalist Brandon Summers, their 2000 debut Com Plex leaned toward My Bloody Valentine-like daydreamy noisescapes. Their output since then has evolved, with a deepening commitment to pop melody and structure. Keep Your Eyes Ahead is the truest expression so far of that trait. Summers maintains a grainy quality to his singing, but he's added sweetness and a lighter sense of tone. That shift toward lightness extends to the songwriting, which on Eyes is consistently catchy and focused. "Can't Say No" uses a double-time cadence in the verse to make the song's hook burst like the sun through a hurricane’s eye. Not that they’ve forgotten how to bring the shoegaze; "Hallelujah," for one, flies off into space on a wave of epic, bliss-fuzz guitar. Still, the record is short and cries out for one last big scream. Instead, they end with the whisper of "Broken Afternoon" and the folksy, Dylan-esque "No Regrets." Their increasing subtlety has cost them some grandeur, but their melodious gifts are more seductive than ever. --Matthew Cooke

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Album Yet, January 31, 2008

By 

Kid A (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Keep Your Eyes Ahead (MP3 Download)

Indie rock fans will be missing out if they think they're too cool for The Helio Sequence's latest "Keep Your Eyes Ahead." And Helio Sequence fan boys (or girls) may be dissapointed if they expect another My Bloody Valentine and Beatles sound mix (search Young Effectuals if you miss Kevin Shields). The fact is that this Portland, OR duo is going to keep putting out original music, and the more they innovate, the better they get. I haven't heard an album that blends the elements of electronic so well with organic six string strumming. "Shed Your Love" on this album exemplifies this perfectly. The most catchy tracks on this album would have to be "Can't Say No" and "Keep Your Eyes" ahead. There's a degree of enlightened honesty to the lyrics of "Can't Say No" that begs people to start paying attention to the world around them. Are you indoctrinated by your country? Are you an indie rocker that's a slave to what's hip? The Helio Sequence asks you to think in the abstract and evaluate yourself. If you're daring enough to take this trip and love good music, buy this album. You won't regret it.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful, innovative, upbeat, February 6, 2008

By 

A. Fabbri "afabbri" (seattle, wa USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Keep Your Eyes Ahead (Audio CD)

Wow I am really liking this new Helio Sequence album. They have kept it fresh by innovating some new sounds (unlike some bands that apply their formula and repeat).

One thing remains constant; the beats are wicked--I love the drummer's style and chops. (I also like the way he moves his head live--reminds me of Animal--but that's another story.)

The album starts out meloncholy and melodic with Lately--which slowly builds up towards the end. Next, Can't Say No is up beat and catchy. The rythym of the drums matched by some tight lyrics--this one could be a hit. The Captive Mind is the next track--still has a driving beat but is more introspective. You Can Come To Me starts out with some signature beeps and bleeps and blends in some slick acoustic guitar with less dominating beats.

Shed Your Love is acoustic, soft, devoid of drums. A lullaby.

Keep Your Eyes Ahead brings back the upbeat drums but adds a really beautiful guitar feel which reminds me of--I don't know--The Chameleons UK, the Cure, Joy Division, Pink Floyd and a dash of Coldplay. I have no idea really.

I could continue yapping about each tracks--but the point is that this is a very solid album--possibly their best work yet.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Their best so far, February 27, 2008

By 

J. Rossi (Downers Grove, IL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Keep Your Eyes Ahead (Audio CD)

From start to finish, this is Helio Sequence's best album. Young Effectuals is a close second, but it's too hit and miss when compared with this album, which only gets better and better both song-by-song and listen-by-listen.

The band delves into many different styles (electronic tinged pop, acoustic melancholy, shoegaze, shambling country blues) while always retaining its signature sound. The highlights are Lately, The Captive Mind, You Can Come to Me, Keep Your Eyes Ahead and Hallelujah on the upbeat pop side of things and Shed Your Love, Back To This, Broken Afternoon and No Regrets on the softer, more melancholic side of things.

Back to This hearkens to Young Effectuals with subtle and heartbreaking effects that drift underneath the main melodic parts. Shed Your Love goes without drums, but it doesn't need them. The barely-audible sonic flourishes might even make the song.

In addition to the music, the lyrics are outstanding (On a subway train before the dawn/the ride was short but my thoughts were long from Shed Your Love, or, Sometimes you feel so lonely haunted and stark/waving in the wind like a flag that's torn apart from Broken Afternoon).

Simply put, the Helio Sequence has crafted another perfect album, musically, lyrically, emotionally and thematically. Alll the critics that peed their pants after Love and Distance are going to have to get on Ritalin to settle their minds after this one.