While not part of the Midwest, Pittsburgh has been heavily participating in the region's reign of new bands that whip ass. On the hardcore side, Princess been making a name for themselves and helping to keep the city on the map, and Eyewash is another newer band to keep an eye on, albeit with less 2-step parts.
I was obsessed with Eyewash's eponymously titled debut EP last year, feeling like I was hearing so many influences from the Cure to Cocteau Twins.
The band's new single, “Bound” features the crushing guitar, powerful vocals, and electronic atompherics also found on their previously mentioned EP, but the inclusion of unclean vocals pushed them into new territory,
This new single just furthers that Eyewash have so much to offer. I spoke with Eyewash bassist Rachel Hines to learn more about the Pittsburgh outfit.
What is Eyewash's origin story, and were any of you in bands together before this?
I wrote some of the EP songs during the early pandemic and asked Alex Walsh if she wanted to start a band with me. I had admired her talent from her previous projects and was excited to collaborate with her. We asked some of our friends to join and Eyewash was formed in late 2021.
This is the first band that Gin and I have been in, but everyone else had been in a few different bands before with different members overlapping on different projects.
Tell us about “Bound” and its lyrical inspiration.
"Bound" is a song about the challenges of loving someone who treats you well after a history of unhealthy relationships. With lyrics written by Alex, the song was made in collaboration with our previous guitarist Jake Yencik and draws inspiration from styles heavier than the Eyewash EP.
The song’s contrast between gentler verses and angsty choruses follows the lyrical indecision that goes along with accepting the love we deserve. We wanted to show our more vulnerable and emotional sides with this song.
You released your first EP in March of 2023, how has the band evolved between then and the release of “Bound”?
Since the EP was released, we moved into a heavier sound influenced by our love of all kinds of music. I think we are also all a lot better at playing together now.
You’ve worked with Owen Traynor (mixing engineer), August Axcelson (mastering engineer), Cam Morris (cover artist) on both Eyewash releases. What’s the relationship there?
We met August when we played with Kaonashi in August 2022 and hit it off since he had worked with bands similar to us in the past. We enjoyed Cam’s work on ASkySoBlack’s album art and thought that their art style fit well with the vibe we wanted to achieve.
Owen has been a friend of all of ours for years, and he has really been essential to developing our sound. Consistency is important to us and it’s great to have a team that delivers every time.
What’s next for the band?
We’re hoping to start touring more; we really want to play in a lot of new cities. We also want to put out more music that’s in line with this new direction.
Anyone you’d like to shoutout?
We really appreciate the support we’ve gotten from Preserving Underground and anyone who’s helped us play some of the great show’s we’ve been lucky to get on in the past few years. We’re also grateful to Ethan Harkness for always getting great photos for us!
Eyewash on social media: Instagram
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