The Shop Window Dance with Romanticism in ‘Eyes Wide Shut’

Based in Maidstone, Kent, colourful four-piece indie-pop outfit The Shop Window have been slowly making their mark on the music scene ever since the release of their debut single ‘Mannequin Lies’ in 2020.

The Shop Window are: Carl Mann, Syd Oxlee, Martin Corder and Phil Elphee.

Taken from their third album, due out this summer, their latest offering, ‘Eyes Wide Shut’, comes laden in breezy summer rock and euphoria-inducing arrangements. Featuring guest backing vocals from Beth Arzy, the lyrics detail admiring someone from afar. The narrative delves into the romanticism of secret crushes whilst lamenting on whether the feeling is reciprocated (“Is it only me?”).

Relentless instrumentation transpires these feelings of longing, accompanied by delightfully uplifting vocalisations. The vocals ring reminiscent of staple indie bands such as The Charlatans, The Stone Roses, and The Coral. Just before the three-minute mark, the track is stripped back to its base instrumentation before ripping into an explosion of high-octane percussive beats and enthralling guitar lines.

In contrast, the track’s B-side, ‘Low’, dabbles in a darker affair with a melancholier approach that lies closer in vein to the softer introspections found in ‘Lighthouse’.

Speaking on the origin behind the track, Carl Mann divulges: “‘Eyes Wide Shut’ came about in an unusual way for us, Syd sent me an acapella of a vocal melody and lyrics he had come up with. I put it in our ideas folder and almost forgot about it. 

We had pretty much finished the songs for album two when I found I had some free time. So I dug out Syd’s acapella and started playing around with it. The vocal parts basically worked over the same 3 chords all the way through, I changed one of the chorus chords for a slightly different feel. 

Once I found a rhythm groove, the song came together quickly, the jangly guitar lines followed instantly. A few tweaks to the verse vocal phrasing and a change in approach to the chorus vocal melody and it was all done in a morning.”

With this release, the quartet are keeping the revival alive by eternalising their insatiable rock sound on 7” vinyl (with the previously unreleased B-side ‘Low’), in collaboration with independent record label Spinout Nuggets.

Utterly immersive and delightfully infectious, The Shop Window have unveiled what is arguably their most impressive release to date.

 

Live Dates:

25th June - AMAC Festival, Drum Inn, Hythe

 

Lana Williams

@swimdeeplana

Image: ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ Official Single Cover (PRESS)