Third Eye Foundation
What Is It With You
(Domino Records)
After his last two full-length albums (Ghost and You Guys Kill Me), I was hooked on the creeped-out sounds of Third Eye Foundation. Although the roots of the music probably fall somewhere into the jungle category, Matt Elliot was doing something so completely different and strange with it that I couldn't help but listen. Instead of going the jazzy route or uptempo dancefloor, he twisted them out and added weird, creeped-out samples of off-key instruments and vocals, creating a sort of demented, choral jungle or something.
"What Is It With You" is the first single from his new album Little Lost Soul and it's easy to hear that although he's kept some of the same elements in place, he's also slightly changed up the sound. The title track of the three-song release starts out with some rather light, wigged-out drums and one of those almost signature moaning drones. You can even here tiny flits of maybe a french horn in the background. Eventually, a sample of what sounds almost middle-eastern (but is probably just a regular voice twisted beyond recognition) singing swirls through the mix and raises the track to absolutely beautiful levels. It still has sort of a dark edge to it all (and even the beats start pounding with about a minute left in the track), but it sounds like there's a light at the end of the tunnel instead of more pitch black.
The second track on the disc is a longer re-working of "Are You Still A Cliche'" off the same aforementioned disc. Another piece of twisted glory, the track moves along with a haunted chorus and a very light, shuffling beat and even a sample of someone crying. The final track is a remix of "What Is It With You" that takes the song in completely different directions, eschewing the pitch-bent vocal samples for a more repetitive, sparse instrumental.
Basically, this single is a tide-over until you can get your hands on the full-length, or something for the die-hard fan with the extra mixes. It shows a nice progression of the Third Eye Foundation sound although it's only about 15 minutes worth of music.
Rating: 7
