Reviewed by Jon Miles

On the basis of this tape, Glasgow's One Good Eye can be commended for steering clear of the 'teenage fanclub sound-alike' trap currently plaguing the indie scene, and for producing a debut mini-album with some pretty good moments. With the opening "Lies", vaguely reminiscent of the Afghan Whigs, they get off to a good start, followed up later by the Lou Reed-influenced "Now And Then" and the excellent "Going On", which, despite being a blatant steal from the Auterus' "Showgirl", is probably the highlight of the album. The remaining three tracks, unfortunately, don't really live up to the promise that the band show, being rather unoriginal, if pleasant, standard indie-guitar tracks, and this is the main area the band can work on. With a few more surprises thrown in, and with a bit more work on their timing and sound, their songwriting abilities would be showcased far more favourably. This is a good debut, and although the band need to do some work, the three highlighted tracks and some intelligent lyrics make it well worth a listen.

Also reviewed in CR27:
The observant amongst the Cross Rhythms readers will realise that this is the third review for One Good Eye. The alternative rock trio from Glasgow are starting to make a name for themselves, selling out King Tut's, a favourite Glasgow venue for live music and in London where this professionally recorded 2-song tape was made. The production is excellent and brings out the best in the bands guitar, bass and drums line up. The vocals are slightly strained and fail to cut through as strongly as some would like, but this is due to the musical style of the band rather than anything else. The influences of REM and Nirvana are very strong and sometimes threaten to swap the bands sound. Despite this, there is no doubting the bands talent and the two songs on this demo prove their song writing ability and musicianship. If you have the chance to see this lot at festivals over the summer, do so. And for those of you that run gigs, get hold of this tape and then book this band!
8
Tim Holden

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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