Beams Are Bright and Menacing on 'The Spark in Your Eye'

Moving further away from their folksier-leanings of yore, Toronto's Beams returned in August with their psych-rock-adjacent three-track EP follow-up to 2021's aptly titled Ego Death. Written in lockdown and recorded live off the floor from a 13-song session at Hudson Valley, NY's Marcata Recording with producer Kevin McMahonn, the short collection is both bright and menacing, with Mike Mērnieks-Duffield's understated-yet-crashing drumming acting as a grounding force throughout, while co-vocalists Anna Mērnieks-Duffield and Heather Mazhar's exasperation ring true on opening track "Morning Waits" as they sing, "I used to boil it up for tea / But now I just drink hot water / I've been so tired." Elsewhere, violin and vibraphone add buzzy and breezy textures, while Anna's songwriting brings to mind both the vulnerability of Braids and attitude of Fiver.