Words by Alex (P80) Parks

Melding genres and collaborating with a diverse array of artists, Eyedress constructs a masterfully creative offering with his latest full-length LP. On Full Time Lover, he brings along contemporaries and unique voices to capture each moment. There are instances of pop, alt-indie, and hip hop too, but most importantly, it’s what he generates that falls in between or across genres that really resonates here.

Living in an age of overly defining every subgenre and categorizing each shred of music, it’s artists that eschew those confines and create across differing types of music. That’s what Eyedress does best on this album, showcasing it on a grand scale without ever seeming too profound or serious. Creating a vibe or following a melody down a rabbit hole on a single track or via a suite of songs. Breaking our consciousness of specific boundaries to conjure a mood. While he does give us plenty to listen to, Eyedress never lets you settle into one ‘format’ for too long on this meandering trip. With this ambitious offering, Full Time Lover clocks in at over an hour across 28 tracks. He connects with an array of musical friends on this project displaying his wide musical talents, tastes and influences.

Highlights are aplenty, as are his guest features/collaborators. The dystopian robotic drone of “Break The Law” leads us into the jump off of spooky synths in “Dream Dealer” with Chad Hugo; a head-nodding start to the journey. He croons about his affections on “Still in love” and even brings along his fiancé, Evia on the soft and mellow title track.

He slows the bpm even further on “Spaghetti” and the subsequent couple tracks. On “House of Cards” Eyedress finds the full ambience of vibrating synths which spills into the pleasant fuzz of “Dinner Time” followed by the electronic pulse of “Try another time;” Both of which feature alt-indie band The Drums. “Faith In Love,” with band Provoker, delivers perfectly with echoing vocals, vibrating synthesizers, drenched in gorgeous harmonies.

Rap fans won’t be disappointed by the modern beats and auto tune combos in the latter half of the album. The funky and upbeat gem “Mr Nice Guy” with Vex Ruffin, breaks up the hip hop suites. Stellar guests like Chuck Strangers jump on the floating loop and R&B background vocals of “Don’t Wake me Baby.” Spitter Zero and alt-electronic act Gonjasufi on “Safe with you” followed by the dynamic duo of YL and Starker on “For The Children” round out the final suite of the album with ethereal, hazy beats.

Full Time Lover will certainly strike a chord with fans of Eye’s previous rock/pop work and also his production alongside top emcees. But it’s his forays into the other ‘stuff’ on this album is what really elevates this LP. If nothing else, this endeavor shows Eyedress’s immense range in a variety of formats. And it’s that jack-of-all-trades musicality that shines through on Full Time Lover.

Music, merch and more available here:

https://eyedress.tv/