Review: Eagle Eyed Tiger – Smile for the Camera

Eagle Eyed Tiger released an incredible dreamwave LP titled Smile for the Camera. A producer from NYC, Eagle Eyed Tiger crosses genres that blend as a throwback, mixing synthwave, retro sounds, reverb drenched guitar licks, funk, and tweaked out beats.
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Eagle Eyed Tiger released an incredible ten-track dreamwave album titled Smile for the Camera. A producer from New York City, Eagle Eyed Tiger crosses multiple genres that blend as a throwback vibe that will thrill any cassette lover. Mixing synthwave with retro sounds, reverb drenched guitar licks, funk bass lines, and tweaked out beats, some of them sounding like vintage Casio synths from 1984.

Half of the songs are instrumentals that groove hard, begging you to put them on repeat. Other songs explore a reoccurring theme of a relationship that has come to an end. Siren is a standout, released as a single with b-side Meteor, which isn’t on the LP. While She Loved Me has a groove and melody that sticks in your head; this track sets the tone for the album. In the Mood for Love closes the album as a downtempo song that we’ll likely repeat as a single.

Eagle Eyed Tiger: Smile for the Camera (SoundCloud)

Cassette Culture is my favorite instrumental on the album, but it’s honestly difficult to select the ‘best’. Disconaut grooves the hardest, hitting the height of the album’s energy halfway through the track listing. Stasis, the opening track, is the track you’ll likely introduce your friends with. The tape bends, EQ filter sweeps, and dreamwave guitar melodies make all of these songs infectious.

Is This What You Want is coupled with a chill lyric music video of Eagle Eyed Tiger’s silhouette with a night scene of New York City filling large windows behind him, slowly shifting from a blue tint to yellow, with a grainy vintage video camera feel.

Eagle Eyed Tiger: Is This What You Want (YouTube)

Eagle Eyed Tiger began releasing music three years ago. His debut LP, Separations, was an ambitious fifteen experimental tracks. He followed this with a mixtape, Hostages, and three EPs. Last year’s On The Run LP stepped further into grooves. But it’s his latest release where he comes into a lo-fi yet galvanized sound that is an absolute buzz. Needless to say, he has compiled quite the catalogue of songs since 2017 that will keep you occupied.

By the way, don’t overlook Meteor, the dream pop b-side to the Siren single. It’s a synth-driven instrumental that builds differently than the songs on this album. But it’s certainly notable and works well as a backdrop to an expansive scenery. (Note: Meteor and Away We Go are bonus tracks on Bandcamp.)

Album artwork is by Junoregen, a very talented illustrator.

Eagle Eyed Tiger: Smile for the Camera (Spotify)
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Kevin Flick
Kevin Flick

Kevin Flick founded Puddlegum in 1997 and has been engaging in music journalism off and on since. He's also a recording/mixing engineer and loves to help bands work through the creative process. He has coproduced and mixed for artists such as Saeyers, Midi Memory, and Cathedral Bells.

Rumors are that he's a Brighton Hove & Albion FC fan. He's also obsessed with coffee. Kevin resides in the college community of Bloomington, Indiana, where he studied at Indiana University.

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5 Comments

  1. Nice review, you got one thing wrong though: Separations wasn’t EET’s debut album. He actually released another one beforehand called Drowning Machines, although the only evidence of said album’s existence is a playlist on his SoundCloud.

    • Away We Go and Meteor are bonus tracks on Bandcamp if you purchase the album. It doesn’t show up on the Bandcamp page though. But they’re in the track-listing on the app (once you buy the album). Hope this helps!

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