Ominous guitar and bass start off the newest track from Redeye, an Austin act that straddles the line between indie pop with a folk bent and full on alt-country, but "Sleepwalk" quickly turns hopeful, if also a bit stark. It’s a track about hope, in fact, and it wonders whether someone will be there for the singer in rough times they seem sure are coming. Redeye caps the lovely and heart-tweaking track with the poignant image of this hoped-for ally being "A fragile light I’ll picture always/A fire burning in the snow," and this attention to scenery and mood are central to the artist’s sound.
Going from this track and a few other clips released, like this one that features track "Dryland," the upcoming third album "The Memory Layers" by Redeye (set to be released in April) looks like it will fit ideally into the Texas alt-country/folk canon. It hits that key requirement of also fitting so well into the sweeping, heat-affected spirit of Texas itself, and it’s not hard to imagine the swelling fiddles and Redeye’s twanging, yet not exactly country voice accompanying a long road trip across this state, even moreso for the vivid imagery conjured in each song. This album should be quite good, not only for Redeye himself’s work, but also for the impressive list of artists who have also had a hand in it, including folks who have been members of or worked with groups in the past like the Polyphonic Spree, Midlake, Black Angels, Dana Falconberry, and Baptist Generals. That kind of quality roster attached to the unquestionable talent of Redeye will have a hard time creating anything but a good record, and if you’d like to be one of the first to get it in your ears, listen to "Sleepless" below and get to Redeye’s show at The Mohawk with Bee Caves on April 18 for good, Texan music.