ormed in August 2001, this five-piece band boasts a lineup as unique as its take on the dangerously overmined terrain of 1979-style rock: two drummers, two bassists, a keyboard, a guitarist, and miscellaneous percussive chaos. If the first thing such a manner of arrangement brings to mind is the love-it-or-hate-it topography of The Fall’s 1981 landmark release, Hex Enduction Hour, you’d be correct: on the self-titled (and Ian-MacKaye-produced, as will be their soon-to-be-released album on Dischord) 7” they released last year, Black Eyes definitely seems to be channeling the spirit—albeit in nothing whatsoever approaching a derivative manner—of that pioneering but difficult band.

Even the quickest, needle-hopping listen to their single proves this, in spades. “Shut Up I Never,” a rampaging assault of lo-fi keyboards caught somewhere between analog and digital, snaky guitar, culminates in Antioch-Arrow-style shrieked vocals (I could very easily be wrong, but I think the singer namechecks Hy Maya, a pre-Pere-Ubu electronic project manned by its synth player Allen Ravenstine), neck-snapping spasms of bass, and a final trainwreck that sends everything tumbling in four directions at once. Meanwhile, “Some Boys” is a scathing bit of uptempo rock with more abstract smears of low-end destruction accompanying dubbed-out beats worthy of late-period Fugazi and lines like “Black plastic is a sign of recognition / A token of tokenism.”

According to band member Jacob Long, their upcoming LP will not disappoint fans of the band’s signature sound; it promises not only a well-conceived attention to detail but a drum sound strongly influenced by Ministry’s “Stigmata.” Be forewarned.

Quick Facts:

Location: Washington, D.C.

Style: Heavily rhythmic, post-punk-inflected experimental rock

Labels Appeared On: Ruffian, Dischord (upcoming LP)

Major Releases:

Black Eyes 7”