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Donna from Chronophage/TAZ solo project of bedroom anarcho punk. Inspired by The Apostles, Statement, and Herejia. The B-side features the Eye of the Heron demo from 2021.
Our take: Roach Leg Records brings us a new EP from this solo project by Donna from Chronophage and TAZ, with the project’s first EP on the b-side. Rather than having a single band name and titles for each release, I read somewhere (though I can’t find it now) that this project’s name will change with each release, keeping the “Eye of” part consistent and substituting a different bird for each release. Pretty cool. Eye of the Cormorant sounds to me like they have one foot in the lo-fi experiments of groups like Chronophage and Blue Dolphin and the other in the more melodic end of UK anarcho-punk, particularly Zounds and the Mob. The result, though, is something that doesn’t sound quite like either, and it’s all the better for it. While “Rag Warfare” reminds me of Straw Man Army, the lo-fi execution and pop sensibility of “He Found Me” wouldn’t be out of place on an early Sebadoh record. The sound differs from track to track, and some experiments are arguably more successful than others, but for me the project’s eclecticism is a huge part of its charm. Certainly, if you have a taste for the more experimental sounds of the aforementioned groups, you’ll be able to hang with this, as it sounds straightforward by comparison. While it may not be for everyone, adventurous-eared punks out there will love what this project is up to.
Our take: Roach Leg Records brings us a new EP from this solo project by Donna from Chronophage and TAZ, with the project’s first EP on the b-side. Rather than having a single band name and titles for each release, I read somewhere (though I can’t find it now) that this project’s name will change with each release, keeping the “Eye of” part consistent and substituting a different bird for each release. Pretty cool. Eye of the Cormorant sounds to me like they have one foot in the lo-fi experiments of groups like Chronophage and Blue Dolphin and the other in the more melodic end of UK anarcho-punk, particularly Zounds and the Mob. The result, though, is something that doesn’t sound quite like either, and it’s all the better for it. While “Rag Warfare” reminds me of Straw Man Army, the lo-fi execution and pop sensibility of “He Found Me” wouldn’t be out of place on an early Sebadoh record. The sound differs from track to track, and some experiments are arguably more successful than others, but for me the project’s eclecticism is a huge part of its charm. Certainly, if you have a taste for the more experimental sounds of the aforementioned groups, you’ll be able to hang with this, as it sounds straightforward by comparison. While it may not be for everyone, adventurous-eared punks out there will love what this project is up to.