Over the past seven months, I’ve grown to love Close Your Eyes for their distinct sound and fantastic creative direction. This year’s male rookie groups have done a great job carving out their own niche in the market and although Close Your Eyes have played within different genres their vocal color and quirkiness has made them instantly identifiable. That signature sound gets a huge test with pre-release SOB, which sounds like nothing they’ve ever recorded before.
SOB is a collaboration with Kazakh DJ/producer Imanbek and sees the group targeting an edgy dance sound. Their discography is in need of more fast-paced material, though I was weary of yet another “talking over club beats” track in a market already overstuffed with them. As teasers began to materialize, I hoped the song’s catchy chanted hook would be buttressed by more melodic verses. Unfortunately, the chorus is by far SOB‘s strongest moment. Not only are the verses unmemorable (and lyrically cringy), but they sacrifice the group’s unique vocal tone by slathering it in ugly effects.
Sigh. I really wanted to love this, and maybe time will be kind to it. But at just over two minutes in length, there’s not even much song here to evaluate. Compare this to work like All My Poetry or Paint Candy and SOB feels like a small, unconvincing lark. I love that they’re attempting dance music and hopefully they’ll be more successful with the genre on other album tracks. This one’s a bit of a head-scratcher.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 7.75 |
