The Fleeting Ends: Our Eyes Are Peeled.

Text by Kevin Stairiker. Image by G.W. Miller III.

The first readily apparent thing after a full listen to The Fleeting Ends’ new album Our Eyes Are Peeled is that it is an album that works best as it’s presented, not in fragments. As songs end, the next ones immediately ready themselves for consumption.

In this respect, the album, which drops today, draws comparisons to fellow Philly natives Dr. Dog’s 2008 album Fate. Both that album and this one have highly conceptualized rock music with pop overtones that make it very easy for a listener to appreciate. And just as with Dr. Dog, the Fleeting Ends’ musical output has seemingly all been a lead up to Our Eyes Are Peeled, with every song given the full musical treatment, from layered guitars to perfectly executed string arrangements.

Brevity is on the band’s side, as 11 songs go by in a little more than a half-hour, with the average song running a radio-friendly three minutes. It’s easy to imagine these songs being yelled by packed crowds in bars, festivals or anywhere really. Melodies are breezy and “oh”- filled to great effect, especially on tracks like “Operator” and “Critics.”

The Upper Darby-bred and now Fishtown-based band has been carving out pop jams for years now but Our Eyes Are Peeled certainly feels like a band hitting it’s stride and knowing exactly how to manipulate it’s talents and influences into music that a whole lot of people will enjoy.

One of the more striking sounds that runs throughout the album is not a particular instrument or effect but instead the sound of genuine joy on the part of the two vocalists, Matts Vantine and Amadio. The concept of joy isn’t really discussed lyrically on the album but it’s hard not to feel it on songs like the harmony-laden, fingerpicked “Floored” or the chaotic, Art Brut-like album closer “Speak In Morse Code.”

The Fleeting Ends have already become a secret that Philly is trying hard to keep to itself but with an album like Our Eyes Are Peeled in their arsenal, it will become increasingly difficult for The Fleeting Ends to simply stay a local band.