Mass Shivers' wild and unpredictable approaches to interplay, song structure, and vocal attack can be a bit disorienting at first, but just think of the band as a sort of indie rocker update on all the crazy work begun years ago by
Captain Beefheart and
Brian Eno. While
Ecstatic Eyes Glow Glossy is not for the faint of heart (nor for anyone lulled by traditional song structures),
Mass Shivers actually have a pretty keen vision and aren't exactly just flailing away at their unpredictable stylings. "Mossy Nethers" sounds like
Jethro Tull reinterpreted by
Can and
Primus (simultaneously...in the same room). "Womanizing Metal Studs" is tough (as the title would lead you to believe) and kind of funky (as the title would not lead you to believe). And so it goes: this is a bizarre album, and sometimes you feel like the band's collective tongue is in its collective cheek, yet everything is so well executed and adventurous on this wheeling indie prog fantasy trip that you really have to wonder. The tribal fusion of double drums is of particular note here. ~ Erik Hage