October and the Eyes released their single ‘Spiral’ in late February. In October’s words, the song is about “going round and round in circles until you’re left dizzied and jaded by the whole thing” (13th Floor). As we speak, the Blenheim-raised artist is accompanying Yves Tumor on his UK tour.
The song’s production is nauseous. The drums and guitars are soaked in reverb and ricochet outwards through delay pedals. This enmeshes October’s vocals, which sound as if they are coming through a tin can. She curls phrases into squeals and flatlines in prayer-like chants. The song revolves around the line, “can’t keep pushing away”, which strips back to acapella at the end, echoes into the ether and beckons us to follow.
The music video is constantly, well, spiralling, in both motion and affect. In the void-like dark, October sits on a white leather chair beside a candelabra. Her black-lined eyes follow the camera as it spins over her. Another version of her snarls in a leather jacket and fur shorts, lit by garish blue and green. She becomes increasingly erratic as the camera somersaults speed up and the instrumentation crashes down.
‘Spiral’ grows on you, once you get a feel for the groove and can anticipate the moments of blockage and catharsis.
‘Spiral’ feels like stalking into a post-punk gig in your best leather.
