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““Quotations””

Best New Track

  • Genre:

    Rock

  • Label:

    Wharf Cat

  • Reviewed:

    August 13, 2021

The playful duo unleash controlled chaos on this album closer, a paradoxically uncluttered mix of doubled vocals and stuttering percussion.

“Puckish” is one way to describe Water From Your Eyes, the Brooklyn-based experimental pop project of Nate Amos and Rachel Brown. Two years after their 2019 breakthrough, Somebody Else’s Song, the duo released a compilation of covers titled—tongue in cheek this time—Somebody Else’s Songs. The band’s upcoming album, Structure, goes further: Lead single ““Quotations”” is a reinterpretation of another album cut with the same title, minus the punctuation marks (their 2019 album played a similar game with the tracks “Look” and “Look Again.”)

Arriving at the very end of the album, the sprawling track is built atop a bright loop of Brown reciting an indecipherable phrase ad infinitum—maybe this is projection, but it sounds to me like “reality hurts.” Soon, another layer of Brown’s voice joins the fray, weaving together gossamer thoughts about grassy fields, hazy memories, and “golden sounds.” This alone would be perfectly pleasant, but midway through, Water From Your Eyes ramp up the sleight of hand, rearranging previously established elements, like the quietly stuttering drums that had lurked in the background, until the song morphs into a giddy burst of color. ““Quotations”” sounds seamless: None of the shifting elements feel too abrupt and the satisfying conclusion arises naturally. Like any magicians worth their salt, Water From Your Eyes knew how the trick would end the entire time.