Album Review: Eyes Over There

Eyes Over There is the new album from Sadsmiles, born out of a beautiful collaboration between longtime musical partnership Wayne Bell and Mahoney Harris. Together, they have been performing and recording for the past 15 years, culminating in this dreamy, light, indie-pop album. Both fantastic musicians in their own right, Wayne Bell being a longtime member of the New Zealand music community playing drums for Dace Dobbyn, Bic Runga, and The Bads, while Mahoney Harris is a folk-pop artist with light, floating vocals, with a discography spanning 15 years.

A month now past the winter solstice, Eyes Over There lends itself to the lighter and longer days, and the soon to be springtime rain, and this album opens with a song longing for just that. The lead single, Brighter Day speaks on the inability to do anything and change a situation beyond just waiting for it to get better. A single perfect for the depths of winter. The bittersweet indie-pop track is steady, accented with synths, and Harris’s floating vocals are accentuated by Bell’s lower backing vocals. 

Came Close is a bassline driven, synth embellished, and vocal harmony supported track about the close call of an ‘almost relationship.’ Harris sings of the “lucky escape” out of a bad situation but reminisces on how nice the security and perception of a relationship would have been. 

Friends Far Away Die is an instrumental piece, found just over halfway through the album, features acclaimed New Zealand poet Janet Frame reading her poem of the same name. The poem is pushed back in the mix, drawing attention to the soundscapes supporting it.

Written over the past 18 months, this album is relaxed, laid back, and calm. The album explores overcoming dark times, creating safe spaces, and relationships through the lens of hindsight. Each song blends into each other well, and the energy throughout the collection stays consistent. It is a lovely example of what collaboration gives to the music, enhancing and expanding what it once was, and reaching its fullest potential. Eyes Over There is available now on Bandcamp, and all other good digital sites.