Eighteen Individual Eyes

Related Content

• Christmas Music Even a Grinch Can Love: The Best Local Holiday Music
  December 14, 2011
• Through @ 2: Wisdom From the Burning Bush
  September 22, 2010
• Tonight: Sea Fever at Neumos, Eighteen Individual Eyes at the Crocodile
  April 5, 2010
• Five Things I Learned About Costumes, Lounging, Stage Banter, and Cover Songs at Bumbershoot 2010
  September 7, 2010
• 69 Local Record Reviews
  February 29, 2012

More About

• Irene Barber
• Paige Richmond
• Arts, Entertainment, and Media

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Events Newsletter: What's happening in town? From underground club nights to the biggest outdoor festivals, our top picks for the week's best events will always keep you in on the action.

Privacy Policy Cancel Continue

Maybe it's because Eighteen Individuals is an all-female band, but there's something unexpectedly soft about their brand of ambient prog rock. Even between the dark, droning guitars of "Rosebud Youth," Irene Barber's melodic, lovely vocals are front and center. That song is just one example of the Seattle four-piece's ability to dance delicately between darkness and light. There are some rollicking, bouncy guitars in the middle of "Treeform in Darkness" that would fit right in with doo-wop vocals—but those chords are quickly replaced with fuzzed-out licks. This lightness is clearer on the band's EP, Slightly Frightened, Mostly Happy, where the instrumentals find perfect balance and allow Barber's voice clarity. But even then, there's a persistent toughness to EIE's steady drum and distorted guitars. These musicians will toy with traditional femininity, but they'd rather sound interesting than pretty. EIE will push the envelope before being pushed around. PAIGE RICHMOND
Mon., April 5, 8 p.m., 2010