There’s no accounting for what major global event could have possibly occurred between the fall of 2019 and now that would’ve influenced Brooklyn duo Water From Your Eyes between the release of their third album of comfy, looping, and often sprawling synth-centric pop songs and today, which sees Rachel Brown and Nate Amos reteaming for a record that exists pretty far outside the fairly clear parameters the pair had set up for the project with their debut EP from 2016. While Structure could still be described as being “looping” and “synth-centric,” there’s something about the album—their first for Wharf Cat Records, and the follow-up to their January covers album riffing on their last LP’s title Somebody Else’s Song—these repetitions mostly stray from anything danceable or familiar to the realm of pop, exploring no-wave soundscapes, spoken-word interludes, and other ideas less familiar to themselves and the listener.
In spite of this shift, though, WFYE are still the type of band to include songs titled “Quotations” and “‘Quotations’” on their track list, or to write a song called “Track 5” and place it sixth on the track list, or to opt out of an opportunity to compile a conventional “influences” playlist in favor of invoking Sugar Ray, Everclear, and “Santeria” for a list of tracks whose only common denominator is that the first letter of each song, together, spells out the name “WATER FROM YOUR EYES.” With a bit of commentary from Amos included below, you can listen to that playlist here—and if you haven’t already, (a) get your priorities straight, buddy, and (b) check out Structure here.
“Wonderful” (Everclear)
Kickin’ it off with a classic. We definitely both love this song. Art’s vocals in the climax are something else.
“All Around Me” (Flyleaf)
Who knows if Flyleaf had any other good songs, but this track rips. That falsetto moment in the hook is starlight.
“Tired of Being Alone” (Al Green)
Honestly, why would we spend our only “T” on anything else? No justification needed.
“Every Morning” (Sugar Ray)
A pretty good song to listen to while rolling your eyes. Also, it’s funny.
“Running” (No Doubt)
Is this an ideal song to run to? Maybe not, but either way Gwen Stefani is really cool.
“Feel No Ways” (Drake)
This is a nostalgic song by Drake from the year 2016.
“Red Rain” (Peter Gabriel)
Sometimes you gotta dance in hell and it ends up feeling good.
“Old Town Road” (Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus)
Y’all, I dare you to name a bigger bop.
“Money (That’s What I Want)” (The Beatles)
Did Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford write the ultimate rock and roll song? Yea. Did The Beatles cover it pretty well? Up 2 u.
“You Got It” (Roy Orbison)
Pretty iconic, especially for so late on. The production is meh/overkill, but it doesn’t matter.
“Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels)” (Jim Croce)
Stephen Malkmus definitely stole from this song for “Zurich is Stained” and we both think that that’s pretty funny.
“Up The Junction” (Squeeze)
Gotta have a fable somewhere on the list. Love that they rhyme “telly” with “smelly” multiple times.
“Ready for the Floor” (Hot Chip)
This is a song about best friends by Hot Chip.
“Etude No. 2” (Philip Glass)
Anyone know who this Philip Glass guy is? This is not half bad.
“Young Turks” (Rod Stewart)
We started making a cover of this at one point but it kind of began to feel like holy ground so we backed off.
“Eternal Lover” (Sweet Baby Jesus)
NYC’s most magical rock and roll band and good cats t’boot. A+.
“Santeria” (Sublime)
This just seemed like a funny way to end the playlist. It’s a little better than people give it credit for though, to be fair.
