Coalition Entertainment
When The Waking Eyes released Video/Sound in 2004 it wasn’t perfect but their high-octane British Invasion swagger held promise for the future when they could reconcile the band’s dynamics and major-label money. Sadly Holding On to Whatever It Is lacks that charm and replaces it with musical multiple personality disorder. The opening title track starts with wannabe Brit pop before jumping on the punk-funk train (several years too late) and grinding gears with an overblown rave-up. This musical schizophrenia continues on the rest of the record. Lightweight reggae-tinged pop gives way to overproduced indie rock. A minor-key waltz prefaces overblown synth-rock. Faux angst rock leads into faux electro — all of which lacks any of the needed credibility.
Lyrically The Waking Eyes are no better with Matt Peters trying too hard (“It’s hard to get up in the morning when you only want to say shut up”) or not trying hard enough (he actually cribs lyrics from Destiny’s Child’s “Bootylicious”). When the band does pull it together the tracks that work are so homogenous that they’re not even worth mentioning.
