Ever since their 2020 release of Underperformer, Copenhagen’s Eyes has had a peculiar grip on me. Admittedly, I didn’t spend a ton of time with them, only listening a handful of times, but something about their blend of early 2000s metalcore (ya know, metallic hardcore) seeming playfulness, noisy punk, and art direction secured a spot in my brain space for the long haul. I’d followed them at a distance over the years and was pleasantly surprised to see them with label support for their freshest offering, Spinner, which is equal parts pissed-off and downright fun.
"OP1", serving as a bona fide intro into an anime-inspired landscape (specifically Goodnight Punpun and Dead Dead Demon’s De De De Destruction) sets the tone. Track two, titled “Better,” the leading single from the album cuts right to the chase, diving head first into the heaviest side of the Eyes scope. Mid-tempo 16ths on the kick dominate for over half the run time, giving way to insatiable groove, and an eventual uptick in pitch that foreshadows some of the higher registers found later. “The Captain” picks up and runs the torch left by Every Time I Die and (for better or worse) Daughters. The pace is still breakneck and at this point, we really get a taste of how versatile vocalist Victor Kaas is, and we get a feature from Feral Nature to boot. “The Captain” is also a perfect example of finding a great feeling riff and not being afraid to sit in it. “Deflating Rooms” is power chord wet dream with a disgusting spastic section that sets up the head-banging-est riff of the album. I want to personally endorse it with a Stank Face Guarantee™️. There’s no use to try to use flowery language on this one. This song simply whoops total ass.
“Beelzebub, The Hypocrite” skews to the punk/noise side of their pendulum, eventually sprawling into a masterfully executed structure and composition. Guitars set pace with up picks that nestle in your ears so deep they scratch your brain. In otherwise uncomplicated instrumentation, every part starts out in a simpler form that ends up slowly amassing flesh as the song churns, summing into a swirling mass that pulls you down into a nod to the opening riff, this time 100% more pummeling. “Save Face on a Regular Basis” is a more straight-forward track but the vocal feature from Jesse Matthewson (Ken Mode) adds a flair that makes the song noteworthy. The track also serves as a check-in for immersion's sake, offering what feels like a commercial break during your favorite anime of yesteryear. “Moving Day for the Overton Window” dials in that playfulness heard on Underperformer in true form. The groovy—dare I say sassy—riff is swiftly smacked right up against a nu-metal/hardcore counterpart motif in tandem and leaves as quickly as it came. After another go around in Sassyville and a quick spacious detour, the riff comes back with extra texture, and slower.
“Clown” is the most vocally abrasive, leaning on some Bannon-esque timbre. That grit is atop the backdrop of the most straight-forward song structurally, but not to a fault. It shines most in terms of how well it does setting up the following track. “Money Mouth” brings out high energy, punk roots, and doesn’t let up for anything. The structure here is pretty parallel to that of “Better,” dedicating much of the track to keeping the nose to the grindstone, but opening up the pace by moving snares from 2 and 4 to 3 at just the right time. Top it all off with a quintessential mosh call, and I’m left thinking there is high emotional value in a seemingly straightforward approach. The title track is a driving culmination of influences we hear throughout the album: noisy, grindy, punk-fueled metalcore. The main riff fights between power chords and swirling dissonance, just like your parents did before they finally split. Having placed “Spinner” to close out the album serves as a tidy bow on top, a summary of this album’s sonic whirlwind splayed out.
Spinner has an astute run time, not overstaying its welcome and built in such a way that let’s Eyes flesh out their sound with tact and confidence. Its a 25-minute testament that you can play past the 5th fret on a guitar and still sound unrelentingly pissed and agitated with certainty. The drum production is so refreshingly human, foregoing quantizing and making you actually feel something. Guitar performances balance out beefy, lower range passes with perfect panicky and dissonant sections. The vocal diversity is a true highlight for me. Kaas and guitar player/back up vocalist Søren Bomand tackle the subgenres that inform the overall sound of Eyes and together move so swiftly between them keeping Spinner an ear-catching listen throughout.