Eyeless Owl: “Murmurations” (2023) – Album Review

Summary

Like its continuously invoked birds in motion, Murmurations from Eyeless Owl delivers a frenzied flurry of symphonic prog, math rock, ambient, avant-garde, samba, jazz… a joyful eruption of multicolored feathers in flight. The album exhibits precision, virtuosity, and almost crystalline structure, but it also displays a sense of fun, looseness, catchy melody, and spirited performance. Precise and measured to be sure, but sportively delightful as well.

Album Info

Introduction

This will probably be one of my shorter reviews, but by no means should it reflect the quality of Murmurations, the 2023 release from Eyeless Owl. If anything, it should reflect this reviewer’s efficacy in communicating and conveying in a proper critical manner.

But then they say brevity is the soul of wit, so maybe, with just a few paragraphs, I’m pure P-Funk? Forsooth.

Moving on… Eyeless Owl’s Murmurations entered my life completely by accident, to be perfectly honest, and similar to the way I often discover new music: I was listening to mixes on YouTube whilst fully engaged with my full-time workaday endeavors, and onto my speakers came a sound that can only be defined as wholly other.

What was I listening to? It was ostensibly Math Rock, with innovative melodicism, odd time signatures, and baroque-like precision. But progressive rock elements were also at play; elements of jazz, samba, and classical, alongside diverse instrumentation and a sense of theatricality. Throw in some flourishes of Avant-garde and Canterbury moments and, quite frankly, I had NO IDEA what I was in for.

But I couldn’t stop listening.

There wasn’t much information about Eyeless Owl online, but I found the album on Bandcamp and spared no time purchasing the CD (and listening immediately to the entire album as digital tracks). From there I learned that the band showcased the music of Quinn Coniguliaro, a multi-instrumentalist and member of multiple bands such as Sun Colored Chair, Wyxz, In-Dreamview, and Filibuster Saloon. A lot of avant-garde, math rock, post rock, ambient, progressive rock and what have you.

Coniguliaro played most of the instruments on the record along with Ben Coniguliaro, and wrote or co-wrote all the tracks with Ben and Zachary Detrick. A host of guest musicians show up on piano, flute, strings, woodwinds, percussion, and more, lending the album some diversity in instrumentation and arrangements.

Overall Murmurations represented new territory for me. So how did it land?

Review

The production values immediately hit from the opening refrain of “Rip of Roost”. Everything sounded crisp, precise, and dynamic. You can feel every note with clarity and purpose, perhaps an essential element to music such as that presented here.

Speaking of which, let’s talk about the music. Murmurations exhibits the clockwork precision, virtuosity, and baroque-like order of math rock without question, but it also displays a sense of fun, looseness, and spirited performance. Dynamic riffing turns into jazzy piano at the drop of the hat, but without sounding incongruous or discordant. When “Bird Tunnels” inverts Santana’s “Black Magic Woman” as the opening of its sonic tapestry, it not only integrates seamlessly into the piece, it utterly belongs there.

“Stone Ponies” features a dreamy, ambient opening that transitions a somewhat slower, jazzier, and looser (but no less structured) number. The atmospheric electric guitar lines that appear mid-song are an especially pleasing counterpoint to the busier elements that surround them. With its overt cinematic cues, “The Big Goldeneye” could be categorized as the album’s spy-movie theme; perhaps a film directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky or Jim Jarmusch. By the way, I’d watch that movie in a heartbeat.

“Outmind” integrates Brazilian/Latin rhythms into its foundation and the result is enthralling. McKenzie Squires adds captivating textures via African and South American percussion, enhancing the Coniguliaros disarming playfulness on acoustic guitar. “Wingtip Vortices”, at nearly 8 minutes in length, comprises the album’s centerpiece number. Traversing from almost metal-esque riffing to soft jazz ruminations to enveloping ambient dreamscapes, whilst maintaining that prevailing drive of melodic exactitude, “Wingtip Vortices” is the album at perhaps its most diverse, or maybe at its least cohesive. There are multiple great moments in this track, but the various sums outweigh the whole.

“Red Knot” lasts about a minute and change, as does the following track “Clean Dinner”. The former is an up-tempo number, a festive interplay between various melodic notions, whereas the latter leans on a more soulful vibe, jazzy and sunny. Both tracks are great fun and, while saying exactly what they need to say, are gone too quickly.

We get a hint of Canterbury with “House Finch”, with Elizabeth Smiland on flute, Sonia Susi on violin, Joey Lavarias providing an extremely playful bassoon, and AJ Hudson on marimba. This track was arranged by Quinn Coniguliaro and Zachary Detrick, and while I don’t know which one of them made my jaw drop with those masterful piano lines, they were a showstopper for me.

I couldn’t tell you why I get a Vince Guaraldi vibe from “Osprey Outcry”, but it’s utterly meant as a compliment. There’s a sweet, almost innocent familiarity to this track, evoking a breezy, pastoral, childlike atmosphere. Woodstock floating happily along in a birdbath perhaps. “Rookery” dissipates that aura rather abruptly, moving into a darker, more overtly prog backdrop. The song easily shows off its technical chops but also some strong symphonic prog hooks as well. The violin interlude (Sonia Susi again) is entirely notable, as is the lush, orchestral break it leads us into.

“Tinfoil Firehat” closes the album with zippy razzamatazz, and it is at this point that I want to assure anyone reading this blog that I will neither write not recite the phrase “zippy razzamatazz” in any review ever again, anywhere. But it does apply. “Tinfoil Firehat” proudly bounces frantically for much of its four minute runtime, transitioning into a ghost-like string section and finally into a carousel outro. As such, providing a spirited and highly dramatic finish to the entire affair.

And in closing…

I had a great time with Murmurations. I enjoyed it enough at first listen, although initially I felt it got a little tiring by album end. But each return to the record unearthed new delights for this reviewer, and the overall album kept me further engaged. Whether or not Murmurations is a grower or a shower depends entirely on your own sensibilities, of course, but one my biggest takeaways was that the album wasn’t just an exercise in technical wankery, or tediously meandering avant-garde improvisations, or self-indulgent whimsy for whimsy’s sake. There was much more to it.

Oh don’t get me wrong, the record is overflowing with technique, whimsy, and if there are improvisational elements they are meticulously and seamlessly integrated into each song. But all of it falls in place to service the melodies, themes, and dare I say, catchy hooks? They’re all there. Like its continuously invoked birds in motion, Murmurations delivers a frenzied flurry of symphonic prog, math rock, ambient, avant-garde, samba, jazz… a joyful eruption of multicolored feathers in flight. Precise and measured to be sure but sportively delightful as well.

Did I actually say that this will probably be one of my shorter reviews?

What similar albums does ChatGPT recommend?

While it behooves me to remind my readers that everything you just read is 100% Mills, let’s ask our friendly neighborhood AI for some similar album recommendations.

If you enjoyed Eyeless Owl’s “Murmurations,” you’ll likely appreciate these five albums that share similar elements such as math rock, progressive rock, genre fusion, and intricate compositions. These recommendations showcase eclectic instrumentation, strong melodies, and unconventional song structures, making them great choices for fans of Eyeless Owl’s unique sound.

1. Battles – “Mirrored” (2007): This album showcases complex rhythms and intricate melodies with diverse instrumentation, resembling the math rock elements in Murmurations.

2. The Mars Volta – “De-Loused in the Comatorium” (2003): With its avant-garde elements and unconventional song structures, this album shares similarities in genre blending and progressive rock elements.

3. Don Caballero – “What Burns Never Returns” (1998): The odd time signatures and intricate guitar work in this album mirror the dynamic compositions and math rock aspects of Murmurations.

4. Thank You Scientist – “Maps of Non-Existent Places” (2012): This album’s eclectic instrumentation and strong melodies reflect the jazz fusion and progressive rock influences found in Murmurations.

5. Mouse on the Keys – “An Anxious Object” (2009): With complex arrangements and piano-driven compositions, this album shares genre fusion and math rock elements with Murmurations.

Output from ChatGPT, OpenAI to Mills, 4 April 2023.