End of the Game

End of The Game is the debut full length by Eyes of Love, a band helmed by Brooklyn songwriter Andrea Schiavelli. Assembling a crew of some of the most skilled musicians in New York’s underground; Lily Konigsberg (Palberta, Lily and Horn Horse), Sammy Weissberg (The Cradle, Sweet Baby Jesus), Paco Cathcart (The Cradle, Shimmer), Schiavelli has cultivated a long player that is obedient to feeling and pulsates with urgent, anxious beauty. These 14 tracks harness the chaos of reckless abandon amid classic structures. Fans of Eyes of Love’s self titled 7” EP will recognize a mastery of breezy pop in tracks like Homeowners and Players of the Field. We see the band turn toward experimentation on tracks like New, which alternates between driving power pop and percussive breakdown. The lush strings, arranged by Weissberg, on tracks like Elevator and End of The Game starkly frame Shiavelli’s earnest songs while adding a depth and variation to this albums’ song-cycle, as do the solo piano instrumentals Piano1 Final and New Piano. The full band tracks on End of The Game were recorded live, have no overdubs and are mixed with little or no effects – a rare technique these days and a sign of a band devoted to the details of their arrangements.