The latest album from Ekko Park is an absolute blast of a time to listen to from beginning to end.
All Eyes On Me sets the scene by just giving it everything. It really feels like it continues to get bigger and bigger. All the parts are clearly mixed and work together to create this massive wall of sound that I can only imagine would sound absolutely killer live. And in fact, I believe that that idea of sounding great live has driven the album. Each and every song, in my mind, sounds like something that was destined to be performed and experienced on a huge sound system with the energy of a live audience.
Tracks like Uh Oh and Oil and Water provide more evidence of this point. The way that the music drives forward with each area of focus so refined, it is clear that a lot of time and effort has been put into this. Greg Haver's production here with the band offers so much and upon multiple listens you will notice subtle musical nods to all sorts of influences.
The album also provides room to breathe with tracks like Bassano Sky with its gentle guitar ostinato building up to an explosive start. The marching drum snare works so well here, nods of U2 style guitars show up from here and there. And again, even here on these tracks, there is so much energy waiting to explode. It is fantastic and inspiring.
One note of interest to me personally is on the track Three Days In March there was a note in the chorus melody that kept of getting my ear, and yet, it wasn't until the bridge that I figured out how that note made sense to the whole song. I am a big fan of moments like this, so kudos. Well played. There is also the track Tea and Toast which I will leave for you to experience. But yeah, I am also not a child of the iPad.
Overall, this album is an absolute blast from start to finish. The album sings out for that live crowd and yet it has been recorded, performed and mixed so perfectly well that you feel it on the album when you have the stereo cranked up. Not to be missed.
Ekko Park released their highly anticipated, independently released second album Know Hope in October 2015, going straight in to the Official NZ Album Chart at #13 and was the #5 Kiwi album.
2017 saw the release of the single Going Uptown which continued the bands rise and success in Europe, culminating in Ekko Park's first ever European Tour across Italy with a stop in Ireland.
2018 starts in earnest as the band welcomes new guitarist Alex Hargreaves to the team.