Lenses Alien
| Lenses Alien | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Cymbals Eat Guitars | ||||
| Released | August 30, 2011 | |||
| Recorded | 2011 | |||
| Genre | Indie rock | |||
| Length | 39:13 | |||
| Label | Memphis Industries, Barsuk Records | |||
| Producer | John Agnello | |||
| Cymbals Eat Guitars chronology | ||||
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| Original cover | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    |
| The A.V. Club | (B+) |
| Consequence of Sound | |
| Drowned in Sound | (8/10) |
| The Guardian | |
| NME | (7/10) |
| Pitchfork Media | (8.0/10) |
| Slant Magazine | |
| Spin | (8/10) |
Lenses Alien is the second album by the indie rock band Cymbals Eat Guitars, released August 30, 2011 on Barsuk Records. The album was produced by John Agnello and received generally positive reviews.
Cymbals Eat Guitars had gained much buzz following the release of their self-released debut album Why There Are Mountains, touring with The Pains of Being Pure at Heart in 2009 and playing at the 2010 Lollapalooza. In addition, the band saw a change in its lineup following the release of their debut album. Dan Baer, the band's original keyboardist, left the band due to an illness, while the band's original bassist, Neil Berenholz, left due to his dislike of touring. Baer and Berenholz were replaced by Brian Hamilton and Matthew Whipple respectively. In March 2011, the band signed with Barsuk Records to record a followup to Why There Are Mountains.
Lenses Alien was recorded in Brooklyn and took only 15 days to record. According to an interview with Stereogum, the album's sound was influenced by Spiritualized, Bedhead and slowcore. In July 2011, the band premiered the first track from the album: "Rifle Eyesight (Proper Name)" as a free MP3 download. On August 23, 2011, the album was streamed in its entirety on Spin.
The album cover was originally a collage that the band did as a homage to an artist the band admired. However, the artist was not happy with the cover, so the band changed the cover out of respect for the artist.
Many critics compared Lenses Alien to 90's indie rock bands such as Superchunk and Built to Spill.Allmusic described the album as "darker" and "moodier" than Why There Are Mountains.NME noted a diverse range of genres on the album, such as noise rock, post-hardcore and progressive rock.
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