Album Review: The Stone Eye – South Of The Sun (Eclipse Records)

The Stone Eye is a progressive sludge-rock band from Philadelphia who combines uniquely-glorious weirdness and clever musicianship. South of the Sun is their new album, out on October 15th, 2021 via Eclipse Records.

Take the grungy sound of Alice in Chains and stoner rockiness of Queens of the Stone Age, put them in a blender and throw in a hefty dollop of open-minded weirdness. What comes out will sound something like The Stone Eye. Moody, groovy, eclectic and electric… South of the Sun certainly proves to be one of 2021’s more unique sounding records.

Delivering their mind-bending sounds in bite-size chunks, South of the Sun is 13 tracks long but aside from one track, none pass the 5-minute mark. This makes the oddness much more digestible and much more palatable. Especially as body-shaking catchiness and stoner groove is a major part of this release. The other being temperamental and disruptive grunginess; the first few tracks showcasing all of this.

You’ll find yourself expressing your enjoyment externally as much as internally when tracks like Who’s There, Witches & Raptures and later, tracks like Presence of the Mind, Riots and Gone Away. Just a small selection from an album that is unswervingly interesting and continuously fun. Never quite one thing or another, the blend of musical influences and how The Stone Eye shapes them around their own musicianship makes this one hell of a memorable listen.

The Stone Eye – South of the Sun Full Track Listing:

1. Who’s There
2. Halfway House
3. Catatonia
4. Witches & Raptures
5. 60/26
6. South of the Sun
7. Aleutian Summer
8. Presence of the Mind
9. Ethereal Visions
10. Homage to Micah
11. Riots
12. Gone Away
13. Saylo

Links

Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Eclipse Records