Grey Eye Glances is an American band from the Philadelphia area.

The… Read Full Bio ↴Grey Eye Glances is an American band from the Philadelphia area.

They are: Dwayne Keith Klessel, Eric O'Dell, Brett Kull, Paul Ramsey, and Lindsey McKay. Jennifer Nobel sang lead vocals from the band's inception until early 2011.

Their name is a quote from Edgar Allan Poe's poem "To One in Paradise".

Thoughtful, Distinguished Pop Rock

The band had three minor AAA radio hits:
Aug 1998: Better Part of Me
Oct 2002: Close Your Eyes
Feb 2003: Big Red Boat

A Little Voodoo (Sojourn Hills Records)

Grey Eye Glances

By Paul Moffett

Pop rock music is usually at the receiving end of the disdain of "real" musicians, as though well-produced, tuneful music was not real. De gustibus is the ruling theme here, however, which allows some of us to enjoy well-done pop rock. Think of the best of Fleetwood Mac, think (dare I say it) of a lot of the Beatles' output, which was enormously aided by the classically trained hand of producer George Martin. Then tune in to the Pennsylvania band Grey Eye Glances and their seventh album they've released, A Little Voodoo.

Grey Eye Glances, which has built a career using non-traditional methods, including the web, formed a partnership with fans to fund and create A Little Voodoo, thereby avoiding the financial drain of a record label. They used four producers to create the songs on A Little Voodoo, not because it was problematic but because they had this idea, see, to take a whole lot of songs (50+) from the various members of the band and boil them down to the best nineteen, then go in a record them in batches of four or so songs, using different producers for each session. The engineers and producers included Jerry Marotta (Peter Gabriel, Indigo Girls, Paul McCartney); Kevin Killen (U2, Elvis Costello, Tori Amos); Peter Moshay (Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, Sean Lennon/Yoko Ono); T-Bone Wolk (Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Eric Clapton, Hall & Oates); Paul Bryan (Aimee Mann) and Todd Vos (Paula Cole, Natalie Merchant, Phish). Ten songs finally wound up on the CD.

The results, which might have been disastrous, are instead, splendid in a thoughtful way. There might be one song with a hook that would appeal to an A&R guy but most of the songs have a deeper appeal than that. After listening for some time, a tune called "Good Folks" stood out for its melodic chorus and well-honed lyric:

"When the wind blows from the North

and the sky looks so divine.

And the waves roll back and forth,

remember it happens all the time."

Most of these songs are very musical and melodic, with thoughtful arrangements - for some, the very definition of pop rock. The primary singer, Jennifer Nobel, who also contributed a number of songs, possesses an elegant instrument, which she uses to proper effect all around. The harmonies are evocative of the Coors' early CDs, blending so well that it's well nigh impossible to separate them.

For the A&R crowd, here's the radio tune: "Big Red Boat," which is upbeat and cheerful. Come to think of it, that might be a negative, given the current state of commercial radio, which seems to be mostly interested in selling sour attitudes.

For the rest of us, including Boomers who might have not listened to anything new since 1985, this CD can go on your changer and the only people who won't like it will be your teenaged male children. A better recommendation than that I can't manage.

Grey Eye Glances' CDs can be found at http://www.greyeyeglances.com/, where you can listen to MP3 samples of a number of tunes. Do go check into it, by all means.

Close Your Eyes
Grey Eye Glances Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

A twinkle in my eye can make you shudder
A "How long has it been?" can make you tense
You know I'm always glad to be another
And I like to keep you in suspense
And i tried to tell you this all along
I hope you're listening, I really do
You never saw anything was wrong
You only did what you had to do

(Chorus)
Close your eyes, we are buildings--
We're so amazing!
Close your eyes, we are movement--
We're awe-inspiring!
Dreams left in shadows
Dreams left alone

A smile that will start to make you nervous
A gesture that will start your heart to race
A feeling when you find yourself left breathless
By a step you're destined to retrace
But I tried to tell you this all along
I hope you're laughing, I really do

Chorus x 2

Overall Meaning

In Grey Eye Glances's song "Close Your Eyes," the lyrics express a mix of emotions that come with being in a relationship with someone who is always unpredictable. The first verse talks about how the singer's mere presence could cause their partner to shudder, and how the simple question of "How long has it been?" could make them tense. The singer acknowledges that they enjoy keeping their partner in suspense and being an "other" in their life. However, the singer laments that they have been trying to tell their partner that things aren't okay, but they never seemed to notice, only doing what they thought they had to do.

The chorus, which is repeated multiple times throughout the song, is a call to escape from reality, imagining oneself as a building or a movement that is awe-inspiring and amazing. The dreams they have are left in shadows if they are not pursued and given the chance to come alive. The second verse continues the theme of the singer's unpredictability, describing how even a simple smile or gesture could make their partner nervous or set their heart racing. The singer hopes that their partner is able to laugh through it all, but the fear of retracing steps is palpable in the lyrics.

Overall, "Close Your Eyes" is a song that deals with the complexities of a volatile relationship, where one partner seems to be holding all the cards and the other is left in their wake. The chorus is a reminder that dreams are worth pursuing and that sometimes we need to escape from reality in order to truly appreciate what we have.

Line by Line Meaning

A twinkle in my eye can make you shudder
Small things that I do can have a profound effect on you

A "How long has it been?" can make you tense
Even simple questions can make you anxious

You know I'm always glad to be another
I am always happy to be there for you

And I like to keep you in suspense
I enjoy keeping you on your toes

And i tried to tell you this all along
I have been trying to express this to you for a while

I hope you're listening, I really do
I genuinely hope that you are paying attention

You never saw anything was wrong
You didn't notice that something was not right

You only did what you had to do
You did what was necessary at the time

A smile that will start to make you nervous
A simple smile can make you feel uneasy

A gesture that will start your heart to race
A small movement can cause your heart to beat faster

A feeling when you find yourself left breathless
A sensation of being speechless and overwhelmed