A no-frills rock sound enamors throughout Eye Hustling, the sophomore album from Philadelphia-based band Mansion on the Hill. They team up with producer Matt Barrick (The Walkmen, Jonathan Fire*Eater) for a melodic range of songs, ranging from the peppy rock ‘n’ roll of the opening title track to the contemplative acoustic-driven “Another Boy Wonder.” A recent nostalgia embraces within the production, echoing an early ’00s brand of indie rock that embraced storytelling and a classic-rock touch, in the vein of The Hold Steady.
Highlights are frequent on the album. “Bluest Skyes” stirs with its mellow, hypnotic guitar swirls and warming bass line. Soulful vocals ascend into a gorgeously twinkling “lost in your eyes,” hook, emphasizing the band’s more softer-rock inclinations. Elsewhere, “Dirty Gold” unveils a soaring, harder-rocking vigor, conveying “slipping toward the edge,” in lyrical form into a bouncy bass line and throwback rock percussive dexterity. Eye Hustling boasts an abundance of quality songwriting and crisp rock production, engrossing throughout.
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“Eye Hustling” and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Best of October 2023’ Spotify playlist.
We discovered this release via MusoSoup, as part of the artist’s promotional campaign.
