Static Eyes

Milwaukee has had a strong relationship with garage rock since the mid-to-late ’90s, and this tradition lives on nearly two decades later. Go out on a Friday or Saturday night and you’re very likely to catch at least one band keeping it simple and gimmick free; a refreshing change from some of our city’s more flashy acts.

Static Eyes are easily the finest act in the city to do so, stripping rock ‘n’ roll down to its bare essentials while pushing harder than most, blurring the lines between garage rock, punk and early hardcore. Over the course of the last five years, the band has released a handful of splits, EPs and singles, drifting in and out of varying levels activity due to a small handful of lineup changes. Triple Eye Industries are happy to announce the release of the band’s latest batch of tunes, the “Traps” EP, to be released on cassette on August 25, 2017. Engineered by Kyle “Motor” Urban at MotorCo Studios, “Traps” was tracked straight to 2″ tape, resulting in a sound that’s honest, gritty and raw. While the concise nature of garage rock has always loaned itself to the single format, the six songs on this release show a band that has come into their own. “Traps” wastes no time in its brief 13 minutes, serving as both a perfect follow up and a fantastic introduction to the band.

Right out the gate, opener “Silencer” is anything but subtle, a brash and noisy rock n roll assault that gets in and out in under two minutes. “Traps” finds the band branching out sonically, built around a menacing motif that echoes the surfy flirtations of the Dead Kennedys. The Mudhoney-esque “Cahootsin”, showcases the beautifully blown out guitar work of guitarist Chopper Chioda and the swagger heavy charm of bassist Lindsay DeGroot and drummer Lydia Washechek. And while screaming for dear life is nothing new for vocalist Lee Olson, the Swell Maps-reminiscent “Void” finds him pushing his voice to its absolute breaking point. This is no bullshit rock n roll, mixed in the red where it rightfully belongs.